Spring blast & Tainter Hollow

It hardly seems that Buster could grow so fast but he has.  In 7 short days he has grown so much!

Bonus!  Buster has not been an escapee as of this blog writing.  He has been easy to catch so far also.
He should be banded this weekend.  At least that is on my list of to do's.

On the 16th I took an early morning walk and to my delight I found the maidenhair fern just curling up out of the moss in the rocks.

The photo to the left was taken on the 16th and the photo on the right was taken on the 18th.  The ferns are really trying to take off!
Again these below were taken on the 16th.

Same ones on the 18th.

I should have thought ahead and tried to get the same exact angle but alas this is the first time I've tried a comparison photo.  
I doubt I can get the same angle every time.
However tomorrow morning I hope to try and see what another two days along with some light rain has done.

Yesterday I thought I'd take a drive down to Tainter Hollow and take a look around at Tainter Creek and the DNR land that is located there. 

It is a very unique piece of public land.  The valley is very steep with a beautiful trout stream that runs through it.
However if there is a heavy rain, Tainter Road always suffers washouts and sometimes closures.

The above photo is Tainter Hollow Rd after a 6 inch rain in 2014.

When I pulled into the little turn around I stopped the Jeep and literally jumped out.  I saw Virginia Bluebells, Wood Anenomes, Trout Lilys, and Dutchman's Breeches.
All are ephemeral flowers.

Ephemeral means short lived.  In other words, you have to keep an eye out for them in the Spring because they blossom then are done. 
I've never been to Tainter Creek at the exact right time before to see the expanse of these flowers until yesterday.

I was totally floored and in awe.  
Trout Lily:

Virginia Bluebells on the left Wood Anenomes on the right:

A sea of Anenomes:

Dutchman's Breeches:

When I got home from Tainter, I called my new neighbor and told her about all of the wild flowers I'd found.  She asked if I'd show her where they were and if we could do it when she got home from picking up her kids from school.

I guess my enthusiasm was evident in my voice and did take them to Tainter Hollow.  The children got to see a Great Blue Heron fly right over us, they got to explore and find beaver dams, and we even saw a pair of Canada Geese.

I was so happy to share this place that rarely gets visitors.

I hope to get to Tainter again this weekend to see if I can catch the bluebells  and the Trout Lily fully open before they do their magical disappearing act.

Duck Egg Hike

With two inches of rain in the morning, I thought that it would be fun to go to Duck Egg and see the small creek running high and full of rain water.

What I didn't expect was the incredible barrage of small wild flowers that were so brilliant along the way.

At every turn we found some beautiful late fall wildflowers.

The creek was running high and I go this shot from one of the foot bridges over the creek.

Dennis found some cool fungi along the trail.

We found Maidenhair Fern with raindrops still on them. The fern was beginning to show its fall colors.

We hiked to the muskrat pond ....

and most of the trail was under water so we returned back to the second bridge and took a break and an apple snack.

Our busy day ended up with Grandpa playing catch with Dennis for a bit while Ariel spent time with Siera and Fred.

And our day was ... done....

This year ... last year...

This year we warmed up a bit faster than last year.  I am finding wild flowers that were already up and blossoming this year by April 25th.

Last year they were not blossoming until much later in May.

I'm guessing that if I get time between drives to Madison and work hours, I may get out and look for Morels!

I probably won't get to the woods today as we are expecting guests this afternoon.

So I'm going into my archives from last year.

Happy May 1st!

Foraging for Fresh Veggies

I wondered how long it would take me to find enough fresh food in the woods.  I had some Wild Parsnips in mind.  I wanted to stir fry them up with some Ramps ... also known as Leeks.

So Morris and I took off with a shovel and a couple of plastic bags.

Morris was very pleased to be able to get out and run.  He'd suffered too many days of staying in the house.  In fact one of those days he simply acted as if he were very depressed.

It was good to see him run happily around!

When things begin to get hectic around here, Morris will be going on vacation at a couple of different places.  He will go stay with my ex boss and his wife for a bit.  That means he'll be able to hang out at the Chiropractic Office and greet patients as he used to when he was younger.

Other arrangements include visiting with his beloved 'kids'.

Anyway, off we went in a hurry.  We were going to go pick up our new ride later in LaCrosse so I wanted to hustle and get some very fresh natural wild ... food!

I laid a 'picked' parsnip next to one that was still in the ground.  Doesn't look like much does it?  
Well when the Wild Parsnip which is an invasive species is in full bloom, they are nasty wicked plants.
In the spring, they are tasty wild morsels when cooked up right!

After gathering enough for a meal, rinsed the dirt off from them and broke off the tops.  I stuffed them in a bag and headed off to the patch of Leeks.

I took a quick glance around the creek bottom area.  There were a lot of deer tracks in the mud mixed in with some raccoon.  I saw no sign of coyotes.

I was pretty warm by the time I climbed into the Leek Patch.  
A few weeks ago they were just emerging.

Now it was a full fledged patch.

I climbed up the steep bank using the shovel as a walking stick.  Then I set to work.

I stuffed those in a bag and checked my watch.  I had to get home and walk up hubby from his nap so we could get a move on.

Of course, I did get sidetracked by the 'Pinks'.  I think the proper name is Spring Beauties or perhaps 'Virginia Pinks' which is their official name.

These are incredibly small and hard to notice if you really aren't looking for them.  But once you find a patch, it is incredible and awe inspiring.

I made it home with some time to spare.

I'd found fresh wild vegetables in the woods, rejoiced at finding Virginia Pinks, and delighted in finding several patches of Mayflowers coming up.

I didn't have time to seek out the trillium I'd found the other day to see if it was going to open or not.

That would have to wait at least two more days.

We'll be travelling for appointments today and tomorrow I'm busy with deliveries and my own doctor checkup.

But spring is here finally.
Which means I will go Morel hunting soon.

Even if I don't find them, it is fun to look.

Indian Pipes & Jewel Weed

If someone were to ask me what my favorite wildflower in August-September was, I'd have to answer.
Indian Pipes also know as Ghost Plants, Corpse Plants [hey Zombies, a flower for you!], and some other names.

They are interesting because they don't use chlorophyll but feed off from fungi which in turns feeds off from wood or a nearby tree.

Small bumble bees find these plants as a great source of food.

I found many places where these were 'popping up'.  If a person were to do a normal hiking speed through my trails and not look hard, these would be missed.
I actually would take a few steps, stop and scan the undergrowth for these.  Once I'd find one...I'd find dozens.

A few times in order to photograph these plants I had to nearly lay down on the ground.  

Their scientific name is Monotrop uniflora.  I still like 'Indian Pipes'.

You have to admit, they are unique!

After they are done flowering ... which you can see in the above shot, they turn black and slimy looking and whither back into the soil.

I also found some yellow Jewel Weed while hiking.
This color isn't as usual as the orange Jewel Weed, but I have found out that the juice from these plants make a great soap that helps with ANY itchy skin.
When I pull nettles in the garden and get welts, I rub on some Jewel Weed soap.  
When my grandson got into poison ivy, I covered it in Jewel Weed soap lather.
When my grand daughter's bare legs were all itchy from running through the weeds,... you guessed it.  Jewel Weed soap lather.

She said it tingled and the itch went away.

How cool is that?

Wildflowers

Common Dandelion, not thought of as beautiful by most, but considered a great subject for photographers.

Common weed in forest floors.  Often overlooked because they are so small.  Very distinctive leaf patterns and cheery yellow color to the flower.

Honeysuckle or Wild Columbine.
These add such a delicate and beautiful color to the woods and are found surprisingly enough even growing on the sides of mossy rocks!

Not a wildflower, but a definite favorite of mine, the Maidenhair Fern.
Bright, green, and with a gorgeous pattern.

These shots taken while I was hunting poison ivy in the ravine.
I did only find one patch and it should be eradicated now.

Treasure Hunting

So I am not Crabby any more. I laughed when I told a co-worker that I was a crabby person the other night. He was down right shocked and said, 'But you are never crabby here! In fact you are the most pleasant person to work with!' I grinned and said, 'Yep, here I am paid to be pleasant!'
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So I've been 'treasure hunting' whenever possible. So what is this Treasure Hunting I'm doing?

That is what I call going out in the woods and exploring and finding plants and wild flowers and identifying them and photographing them.

This time around though, I am also taking notes as to when I found them and where I found them.
Along with the conditions, for example ... was it on a dry hillside? Damp earth? Shady?

My grand plan is to compile a photography book of my Treasures and use all my observations along with the photos.
This may help me remember where and when I found these local beauties.

Woodland Strawberry
Bellwort
False Rue-Anemone