April 6, 2019...A Walk at Brukner Nature Center

I came to Brukner Nature Center to see the Snow Trillium.  They were scattered about at the foot of Short Step Hill.  They were growing among clumps of Hepatica.  It was a beautiful hillside.

Here and there, single Spring Beauty flowers bloomed.  There will be clusters of them, soon.

With my walking stick in my left hand, my binoculars strap around my neck and my Olympus Tough camera in my right hand, I headed to the swamp to see if the Marsh Marigolds were blooming.

On the way I made more discoveries.

The first completely open sprays of Dutchmen's Breeches that I have see this spring...

Purple Cress in bud....

Another photographer was focusing on a tree trunk as I headed up Wren Run.  I didn't get a picture but we saw a Red Admiral, a Mourning Cloak, and an Eastern Comma sucking the sap running down the bark.  All three stayed on the trunk the entire time we admired them.  So nice to see three different colorful butterflies at the same time.

And onward toward the swamp...

The boardwalk on the floodplain was still mostly covered by water.

But as I looked down on the steps to the swamp section of the boardwalk I saw the Marsh Marigolds...

and Skunk Cabbage leaves unfurling its leaves throughout the swamp.  In a few weeks the leaves will cover the entire surface.

The boardwalk in the swamp was not flooded.  It rarely floods.  I followed it out to a little rise where the Harbinger of Spring and the Squirrel Corn grows.  I found the Harbinger of Spring but not the Squirrel Corn.  Maybe next week...

But I found one blooming False Rue Anemone (Isopyrum)...

and this pretty Waterleaf leaf.

I was pleased to get a good photo of a Crayfish Chimney.  I find them hard to photograph.

As I was climbing the hill out of the swamp,  I spotted a Bloodroot fully open.

And I was surprised to see the leaf of a Mayapple that had just broken through the ground.

As I hiked up Hickory Ridge, I found a few more signs of spring.

The Buckeye buds were opening, showing their clusters of  leaves.

There were many more Snow Trilliums and Hepatica in white, lavender and pink.  There were Purple Cresses in bud...

And after much searching I found a Purple Cress blooming.  A pollinator had found it, too.

The Trip to the Swamp to Find Spring...February 4, 2019

The fox, one of Brukner Nature Center's Wildlife Ambassadors, has become accustomed to  people passing by and no longer dashes into its shelter.  Trail Guides talk about the habits of the various wild animals as part of their nature walks.  The animals are caged here because they can not be returned to the wild for one or several reasons.

Portions of the path down Shortstep Hill were icy.  The hill is called Shortstep because it is rather steep.  I was glad I was using a walking stick.

This sycamore log was even greener than it appears in the photo.

I looked down on the Stillwater River floodplain.  It was easy to see that it was a floodplain.  The snow and ice on it were covered by a shiny layer of water.

I hurried along as fast as I could using my walking stick to help me keep my footing.  Spats of rain pattered on my raincoat, then stopped for a few minutes, then pattered down again.  I knew a storm was coming and resolutely said to myself, "I can get to the swamp, see the Skunk Cabbage and get back before the storm hits."

I made it down the bank to the swamp and there at the foot of the three steps built into the bank, I found it.

Once I was down in the swamp , I had to go a little farther, see if there were more clusters of Skunk Cabbage.

The boardwalk was iffy.  I was glad I had my walking stick.

I found a few crawdad chimneys.

I followed the snowy boardwalk until I came to a large tree lying across the walk. 

I considered crawling across the log but decided I had already tempted fate enough times for the day.  I turned back.

I had found a few more skunk cabbage in bud but most were barely showing the points of their Spathes, the leaf like enclosure protecting the buds on the Spadix.

At the foot of the three steps, I found the lone plant in a perfect position for a close up photo.

Another short sprinkle of rain reminded me I should start back now.

If you click and enlarge this photo, you can see the boardwalk through the floodplain.  Closer to the swamp it is covered with several inches of snow, ice and water.

I was pleased to find a few other plants emerging.

Here and there I found a leaf of two of  Hepatica.  Its leaves are green during the winter and turn reddish when the flowers bloom in spring.

These fungi were as bright as flowers.

Near the top of Hickory Ridge trail I found the young beech that reminded me spring is still a few weeks away.

Spring Has Arrived in My Heart, 41 Days Before the Official Calendar Spring...February 4, 2019

The Skunk Cabbage is blooming.

For me, the first day of spring is the day I see the buds on the Spadix inside the Spathe.

And every year I check inside the front cover of  Newcomb's Wildflower Guide to be sure I know a spadix from a Spathe.

Got it.

Next post...more about my walk to the swamp at Brukner Nature Center.

Looking for Skunk Cabbage in Brukner Nature Center's Swamp

The day was chilly...31 degrees Fahrenheit...but I was ready to see a sure sign of spring That's why I came to Brukner.

I decided to take the trail down Shortstep Hill.  At the top of the hill, not far from the Interpretive Center are the Wildlife Ambassadors, the animals who cannot be released into the wild for one reason or another.  Instead, they teach visitors about our native wildlife.

It was interesting to watch this crow drink from the dip between the slabs of concrete.  Behind him and to the left is his Brukner provided water dish.

The creek that flows through the Brukner ravine to the Stillwater River was talkative as it rushed along.  I tried to download a movie clip but it didn't load for some reason so it's Use Your Imagination time.

Because the floodplain boardwalk often is flooded when we have a lot of rain, I took Wren Run up the next hill and then down to the swamp.  At the bottom of the hill where the swamp sits, I found what I was looking for...

When I scanned the photo into the computer, I noticed there are buds inside the spathes.  Spring is on its way.

The trip back was easier because the floodplain boardwalk wasn't flooded after all.  Close to where the swamp ends and the floodplain begins I saw a crayfish chimney.  The red arrow points to the hole the critter has come out through.

Here is a portion of the boardwalk that is often flooded in spring.

This strangely twisted dead tree, the one in the middle, is still standing.

As I headed back I spied a few bright green Hepatica leaves.  By the time the flowers bloom the leaves will be withered.

Back at the foot of Shortstep Hill.  Climbing up takes more energy than going down.

Halfway up.  Tom is waiting for me at the Upper Vista Room.  He is taking photos of birds.

We were both happy we decided to visit Brukner.

The Brukner Nature Center Butterfly Transect, August 13, 2017

Joy and frustration. The day was hot and sunny. We saw ten species of butterflies although we didn't see many of any of them.  My biggest frustration was that this was the best picture of a butterfly that I took...A Silver-spotted Skipper.  The warmer the weather the less likely it is for a butterfly to sit quietly for a portrait.

First the joy...

Molly, who is good at identifying moths and caterpillars of both moths and butterflies walked with us today.  Because of her I saw this beautiful caterpillar.  She told me it was the caterpillar of an Eight-spotted Forester, a moth.

When Tom and I were looking at prairie flower sites last month, I took this photo of the adult Eight-spotted Forester.  It is a showy moth which flies during the day.  It has showy tufts on its forelegs.

And now the frustrations...

This is a Hackberry perched on the wall of the Interpretive Center.

A little better photo of an Eastern Tailed Swallowtail.

But then here is one of a Monarch.  We saw two.

A Summer Azure looking worn.

I drove into our drive hoping that Jim got some better photos.  On the garden phlox beside the drive was this butterfly.  I took a few photos.  Butterflies move faster when the temperatures are in the eighties (Fahrenheit) so I took a lot of photos to get these two that enabled me to identify it as a Spicebush female.  I was happy to see one more species of butterfly.