The Trillium Hunt....

First off...
we had these guys

visit !!!!

Indigo Buntings!

These blue beauties visited for a day and then...well, we haven't seen them again at the feeders. However blue was the theme of the day as Blue Birds flew through in groups. Hopefully some stayed again this year.

Friday morning I had to make a decision. Did I want to go look for Trillium and other Ephemeral flowers? Or did I want to go to the gym and work my butt off and then go shopping. 
Bleh.

Decisions, Decisions.

Shay, the Home Health Aide was curious. She doesn't have a background in nature, but she knows a lot about home health care. I explained I needed [was driven] to go find Ephemeral flowers that would only present themselves for a few weeks...and then...
I'd have to wait for another spring.

Charlie and I hit the ground running [okay walking fast] when we got to KVR. Years ago when I started my Trail Challenge, I'd randomly chosen the West Ridge Trail to start one of my mid May hikes. I recall seeing more Trillium that I'd ever seen in my life.

At that time I was hiking with my friend Bill and we were putting in 'mileage' and not concentrating on the wildflowers. Covid was ravaging the country and we were doing Distance Hiking.  

Anyway... I have never gotten back to that area in May. I've gone to other spots and have been overwhelmed by Virginia Bluebells and Spring Beauties. I decided to go see if I could get lucky with the Trillium.

I hit the Jackpot!

I hit the Jackpot in several ways.

We were surrounded by everything wild and flowering.

Here is a shot of Charlie On Guard. We were sitting on the forest floor when suddenly we heard something crashing through the forest. It literally sounded like an elephant. I saw it was a large doe running straight at us like a ninny.

I raised my hands and hollered, "Hey!" The doe never missed a step, but instead of running through us, she took a hard left and disappeared through the forest. 

Charlie growled and jumped into my lap. Brave dog that he is. I can't say that I've ever experienced that before.

It seems that finding spring forest flowers has become an obsession of mine.

Last year, I'd chosen a different trail to find Trillium. I found a few but the choices of light, position, and interesting-ness of shooting them was not very good.
This year I was so overwhelmed with choices and opportunities.

Even better?
Charlie and I were the only ones there. We spent two hours alongside this trail and never encountered another human or animal. We did hear a variety of birds and an owl.

I did wish I'd had ALL day. Charlie and I had a snack, watched our time and got home on schedule.

I may have satisfied my Trillium Itch for this year and will send myself a note to make sure I go back to this trail next year.

Trilliums....☑

Next wild flowers up will be the Wild Geraniums. 

 

Ephemeral & birds

I was going to try to pick a favorite spring Ephemeral and I can't. 

They all are.

The Meadow Anenome is a delightful little white flower and in Tainter Land, they are abundant on the DNR land next to Tainter Creek.

In 'Tainter Land' there are 4 roads which are all in this crazy narrow valley. Tainter East, Tainter West, Tainter Hollow, and Tainter Road.

Tainter Land is infamous for its steep valley walls and narrow valleys, it floods often. It is wild and it is ruled by Tainter Creek which is sought after by Trout Fisherman.

I like it because I can find all the spring flowers within 500 yards of parking my car on the DNR land.

All Ephemeral flowers make their appearance and then fade away. I like to try and photograph them each year.

It's a very short drive from my house, so I can get there and back quickly. I know where the flowers come up from years of exploring the public land. I have yet to ever run into another soul while walking there.

The bees were enjoying the flowers with me.

Most of these flowers are almost 4 or 5 inches fall. I thought it would be fun to try a 'shoot through' shot. Shoot Through is a method of shooting through other plants to soften the look of your flower. It took a bit of positioning to do it.

I was so pleased to find Dutchman's Breeches near the parking entrance. Just a few feet from these flowers Trout Lilies were pushing up. I was really excited to see them.

Here is a Trout Lily from the spring of 2020 in Tainter Land --> hiding in the Meadow Anenomes. 

Last year I found them on a hike at the Reserve. 

I had some toys in my bag. I never leave home without some ...

Ned-B is such a thoughtful Droid. He gives Peazy --- PC 4C0, a flower.

While I was out checking the fence line in the meadow, I heard a racket. I used the Merlin app to ID the bird. I was surprised by the beautiful songs of the Brown Thrasher.

The lighting was really quite poor for this, but I took the shots anyway. At one point there were 4 of these birds in this birch tree.

This one flew to the nearby Hickory tree right above me.

This is the third year that I've heard these birds here [they probably have been visiting all the years I've lived here, but three years ago is the first time I paid attention to bird song]. 

I walked down into the woods to look at the fencing I had to put back up this week. I thought I saw a little bird hopping around in the brush and brambles.

And...

so...

I got a shot of it. 

It was pretty camouflaged so I circled it. Still, it is very hard to see!

I think it is a Palm Warbler.

The things you can observe when you sit quietly in the forest!

I found another plant that I'd never noticed before too. Another reason to just sit still and look around. 

Pennsylvania Sedge. Obviously a little grass I've never noticed. It blossoms also!

One more grass to add to my collection of grasses!

More rain is in store for us so that means the fungi and mushrooms may decide to make an appearance this year also.

I hope to find some Hepatica soon too. I saw a couple of Blood Roots emerging and the Virginia Beauties are anxious to show off their beauty too! 

Hello Spring, it is nice to see you.

Ephemeral

 Ephemeral: Lasting for a short time; short lived.

Dutchman's Breeches:

April 24th 

Duck Egg County Park

Rue Anemone 

April 24th 

Duck Egg County Park

Rue Anemone

April 20th 

Our woods

Spring Beauties

April 25th

Our woods

[Sorry, I just can't get enough of

these wild flowers!]

Spring Beauties

Our woods along the trail

April 27th

Blood Root

April 24th

Duck Egg County Park

Trout Lily

Tainter Hollow DNR Land

April 27

Meanwhile in the tree department.

I think the oaks are ahead of themselves this year. They usually are after the maple trees. I was going to go out and take a peak at the oaks and the maples along with some bushes this morning, but it looks like we'll have a long rainy day instead.

Meanwhile in the forest...

I took a short walk yesterday after mowing some patches of long shaggy grass.

I still haven't totally unpacked from our mini trip and put everything away. Since Spring waits for no one, I decided to get to the forest and see what was happening.

I found this Rue Anemone. However, looking at it closer, it may be a False Rue Anemone.

This was the first one I found in our woods. In other areas of our county they are already blanketing the floor of certain forest areas.

Because of our steep hills and valleys that face different directions, some areas warm up faster than others.

I found this in a cooler part of our forest. The hillside faces north east which gets a glimpse of morning light but that is it.

 

I walked over to the one spot in our forest that always seems to be ahead of other areas. For the past 20 years I've always found an early small Morel or two in this area.

I found two spots where Maidenhair Ferns were starting to come up. They were not emerging anywhere else.

This spot faces south and in the spring gets nearly all the sunlight and warmth for nearly the whole day. It is the one area that seems to always be slightly ahead of other areas of the forest.

I did not find any Morels or even any signs of them. This Fungi caught my eye though. Its common name is: False Morel. Scientific name: Gyromitra esculenta. 
This mushroom contains the neurotoxin called Gyromitrin. There are rumors that the neurotoxin can be cooked out of it, but I wouldn't take the chance.

I do find their odd and sometimes twisted shapes to be interesting looking though.

I headed home after striking out with any Grey Morels. I came up from the creek and found these Virginia Pinks flooding the top of the hill under the budding trees.

In the Spring, I try to get out and find every ephemeral flower I can. 

I still have Bloodroot, Dutchman's Breeches, Hepatica, and Trout Lilies to find.

Perhaps I need to get my laundry and grocery shopping done first? I don't know why those mundane tasks like to get in the way of all the fun I can have in the forest.

Charlie and Rich seem to be still recovering from our weekend trip.