Dirty Dishes...

Shhhh. Don't tell anyone. I left dirty dishes in the sink, clothes strewn across the unmade bed, and a mess of papers tossed on the table next to a half filled cup of coffee I abandoned.

Why?

Spring Ephemerals. You know the flowers that come up in the spring for a few days and then disappear until next year.

If I miss them, I am sad to have to wait for another chance at it again in the spring.

My friend Pat wanted to come along and see these flowers for herself. She has caught the bug of  finding flowers, native plants, and of course mushrooms. Great minds think alike. 

We decided to meet in town at 7AM and head out.

I haven't had anyone else like my early morning hikes [I do them a lot in the warmer months to avoid the heat]. So I jumped at the chance.

Here is a shot of Pat taking a shot of a trillium. We seem to enjoy shots of each other from behind...

Here is her shot of me and Hannah...

Charlie stayed home. He was informed that he needed a rest day. 
[He was not impressed and held a grudge against both myself and Hannah when we got home! A pouting dog!]

Below are Bishops Caps

I know, I should link to the scientific name

but I like the common names better.

They are easier to remember.

 Another favorite one of mine.

Ginger

The flowers are under the foliage 

like they are hiding!

Mayflowers. Mayapples.

As a kid I called them Umbrella Plants.

I think that describes them well.

They have not flowered yet.

I'm not very good at telling different ferns apart. 

These were ferns unfurling.

Yellow Rocket. 

I've always

seen this as just a weed but found 

out it is edible. Not that I have 

tried it.

We found this flower too, but it was hard

to figure it out.
Swamp Buttercup
I think years ago I just called it a buttercup and

left it at that.

This plant is easy to overlook.

It is tiny and grows in very shaded areas.

I believe it is a False or Wild Lily of
the Valley.

The green in the middle will have tiny white flowers.

Oh... last but not least...

There was this wild Thing we had with us. Her energy was boundless and she showed off by leaping up on logs and diving off from them with wild abandon.

We applauded her achievements and laughed. She handled the hike like it was second nature to her.

I was surprised when I got home that the Dirty Dishes were still there, as was the other messes I'd left. Apparently the Dish Faery and the Housekeeping Faery had also taken the morning off.

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.