Afternoon exploring

Monday turned out to be very nice. 
In the late afternoon, I gathered the pups and took them out to search for any sign of spring.

Skunk Cabbage!
One of the very first flowers of spring. The plant does smell when disturbed but that is how it gets pollinated by insects.

The plant is found in land near streams and rivers.

The flower looks like this:

What really surprised me was that a few Hepatica showed up here and there along the trail I followed. Most of them were near some of the ice caves I've explored this winter.

We found a lot of these flowers along the Wintergreen Trial.

The dogs had a lot of leftover energy so we hiked around the the blind that is set up for watching birds on the ponds.

Our pleasant surprise was that a pair of Swans that returned. I don't know if they are the very same ones from other years, but for the past 4 years, I've found them in late March at this pond.

The dogs were so good. Both sat quietly with me behind the blind while I watched birds for about 30 minutes. It felt so peaceful to not have a time line.

Hannah's face...it doesn't have a white strip in it, that was a ray of sunlight coming through the blind.

Bird Blind:

Springing

Hepatica with a Soldier Beetle.
 I watched, this beetle grab a 
tiny insect and eat it!

Forest Drama!

 Rue Anenome with dew drops on it at Tainter Hollow

These flowers are so tiny that many people never see them while walking on a trail or path through the woods.

They are not showy or exceptional in colors, but in some areas they cover the forest floor for a few weeks each year.

I found these and the Virginia Blue Bells emerging in a place called Tainter Hollow. There is a tract of DNR land open to the public for trout fishing. It runs along Tainter Creek and has one trail that is mowed out and back, but one can wander around fairly easily in the spring. Once summer arrives, the growth around the creek is over 4 foot tall.

No shots of the Bluebells as they were merely an inch tall. My Bluebells at home are much taller and get more spring sunshine.

I walked over in the late evening to where I had some daffodils planted and thought I'd grab a few shots with back lighting. Instead, I got distracted by all of the action on the daffodils.

Here is a Mustard White butterfly which is not to be confused with a Cabbage White. The Mustard White only feeds and pollinates native plants. The Cabbage White is the one we all curse in our vegetable garden.

I have no idea what these insects are, but they were all over the place!

And out in the forest, tiny bees were visiting the Virginia Pinks which a lot of folks call Pink Beauties.

The bees are awake and the flowers are emerging. These flowers will soon disappear and more will take their place.

It has been very warm for this time of April, but I'll take it and enjoy it while I can.

Hay Valley Spring Hike

It was time for our second Annual Spring Hike at Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Fellow Blogger Aurora [equine expressions] and I studied the weather and decided to go for it this week.

Not only was she early to our meet up place, she said she didn't get lost. 

Once we started, our Trail Master kept us on the right track.

At first glance, the trail may look a bit mundane and even boring. But it isn't. Spring feels a bit late this year, but ...

...it is slowly emerging and with a few warmer days it will explode.

If one looks closely, the flowers are emerging on certain hillsides.

Bloodroot

Dutchman's Breeches

Fiddlesticks
--Ferns

Hepatica
[see the fuzzy leaves?]

Wild Photographer
on the loose:

 

We stopped a lot and just soaked in the forest sounds. The day was a bit overcast and at times the sun peeked through but we just walked, talked, and admired everything along the trail.

And photographers who hike together will often grab a candid of the other person. Aurora was no exception. She caught me playing with my Legos.

What was I doing? Well, I was setting up a Lego BigFoot inside a 'cave'. However, I wasn't sure that he should have a fire inside a hollow tree.

The place I really wanted Aurora to see was the old foundation.

This was a much better place to discover Bigfoot.

Photos by
Aurora!

And this is what I was shooting. I found Bigfoot!!!! He was taking a photo of me!

We spent a lot of time looking at this foundation. It may be the only remains of one of the farm buildings that were purchased to make way for the dam that didn't happen.

We took our time and strolled, stopping often to look at things. I never even glanced to see what time it was. I was enjoying everything so much. Female human company AND the great outdoors.

Pussy Toes

this plant had

me stumped until I recalled

finding them before!

Shining Firmoss

If I'd had my way, I would have not even gone back to my vehicle. I would have waved a magic wand and become a woodland elf.

That outing relaxed me so much, it lasted through the weekend. I'm so chill right now I could just melt right into the ground and enjoy the misty rainfall.

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.