Sunday, April 18, 2021

The Spring Rise


It is mid April and the weather has been quite wonky. Normally, the Maidenhair fern doesn't rise out of the forest detritus until the end of April or the first week of May.
This is a photo from 2018.

I visited Duck Egg County Park on Friday with Bill and took him on my favorite trail to hike. It drops into the steep valley and then makes a zig zag back up the hill to a look out.

It was a great hike, we ran into several trout fisherman who asked to pet Charlie. Charlie was beside himself at seeing people. I think the hardest thing for him the past year has been the lack of seeing folks!

So without further ado.... I'm just going to label the photos I took.

Hepatica found on NE hillside.


False Rue Anemones found in the bottoms by the ponds.


Spring Beauties aka Virginia Pinks south facing hillside.



Maidenhair Fern curls south facing hillside.


Mayflower/Mayapple ... all over!


Ostrich Fern curls. East facing hillside, deep in a ravine.


Dutchman Breeches. NE facing hillside among some very shaded areas. Midway up from the valley.


Okay. Not a plant but the red speck?
Get grossed out....


A Juvenile Chigger!!!
Found in leaf litter in a moist area. I did have a 60mm macro lens and really zoomed in for your viewing pleasure. 


Views from the Lookout. Duck Egg Dam in Infrared.


Zoomed in ... not IR.
You can see the much used and loved picnic area for hikers and equine folk under the giant oak tree.

Overview of the valley. And yes the water DID reach the top of the dam in 2007.


And last...because the sky was so incredible and interesting. Some Infrared shots of the prairie.

Charlie, our Trail Master and Fearless Leader.


Duck Egg Upper Prairie Trail.
It actually is a pretty neat trail once the summer prairie flowers start to blossom.



Duck Egg is a hiking and equine county park. The West Trails are for advanced Hikers and Equine Riders as the trails are very steep and very rough with several water crossings. Map.

We have ridden that section and indeed our mules got a great workout. This ended up being our favorite place to ride in the last years that Rich still wanted to trail ride.

Photo of Rich riding Siera through the Bad Axe River. This was at a time when she had decided that water would kill her. She got over it after this ride. Photo 2009.





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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:23 AM

    Beautiful flowers and hike. The pic of Rich is priceless.

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  2. aurora1:05 PM

    Glad you included the infrared photos, really nice. Charlie is too cute! You found a ton of wildflower varieties!! On Friday I took Tank into the city to walk a bit of the river trail. He needs exposure to new sights and sounds, especially people. It is good for him to practice walking on a leash. He is always off leash at home, but wears a shock collar for wooded walks. The WI river banks were covered in Dutchman's Breech.

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    Replies
    1. Val Ewing4:15 AM

      When Charlie is off leash he wears his buzz/ringer collar too. Kudos for you to expose him to new things and socialize him. Too often folks don't. Charlie used to visit the nursing home and my MIL loved having him there. Over the past year the home adopted a dog for the residents!
      Oh, I bet the river banks were beautiful! I used to walk the parks in Wausau in the spring with my little grand kids. They've moved to Montana now though. :(

      Delete
  3. Far Side of Fifty8:54 PM

    You have quite a lot blooming...we have nothing yet. You had fun in the woods!

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