Walks at Garbry Big Woods, April 10 and April 16

April 10 Bloodroot.  Tom and I saw Bloodroot on April 16, also but a lot of them had lost their petals.

April 10 Harbinger of Spring...We didn't see any on April 16 but that may have been because we were looking at all the new species that had begun blooming.

April 10 Spice Bush...Tom noticed one bush in full bloom at the entrance to the woods but we didn't see any other blooms.  I think we missed their showy season.

April 10  Blue Cohosh...Maroon flowers were still blooming on April 16.

April 16, Blue Cohosh...I found the yellow version, too.  I didn't see those on April 10.

April 10 Mayapples...The Mayapples were emerging.

April 16 Mayapples...Lots of Mayapples as tall as they ever get.  The two-leafed ones had plump round buds.  Looks like this will be a good year for Mayapples.

April 10 Yellow Trout Lily (Dogtooth Violet)...This was open as far as any I saw on April 10.

April 16 Yellow Trout Lily...The entire woodland floor was sprinkled with open Yellow Trout Lilies (Dogtooth Violets)

April 16, Yellow Trout Lily...Lots of the Trout Lilies nestle among the roots of the trees.

April 10  Large Flowered Trillium...Tom and I were pleased to find this Large-flowered Trillium showing its white petals.

April 16 Larged Flowered Trillium...Still not a lot of Large-flowered Trillium completely open but there were a lot that were close to fully open.  In a few days the woods will be white with them.

April 16 Large Flowered Bellwort...We didn't see any open on April 10 but today there were enough that their paler yellow was noticeable even though there were also lots of the brighter yellow of the Trout Lilies.

April 16  Wild Ginger...The leaves are beginning to emerge.  The fuzzy buds were visible on some of the plants.

Wild Blue Phlox...I found this as we were heading back to the van.  After I saw this one I saw several more.  None of them were showing buds, yet.

And that is why the early flowers of Spring are called "Ephemeral".  Here this week and gone next week.

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.

April 3, 2019...A Perfect Spring Day in the Woods

Frogs singing for their mates provided music for our ears and flowers provided beauty for our eyes.   This was the first day of Spring in Garbry Big Woods Sanctuary.  The calendar Spring is only a date.  This was an event.

Harbinger of Spring clusters were sprinkled throughout the woodland, little tufts on the blanket of last year's leaves.

Here and there other flowers joined in the celebration.

Spring Beauties...

Hepatica...

Bloodroot...

And a little further down the boardwalk, Dutchmen's Breeches buds were swelling.

A few Sessile Trillium were opening their leaves.

Waterleaf was just beginning to show itself all through the woods.

And the pollinators were busy gathering food for themselves and spreading pollen.

A bee or a wasp or a fly?  The flower is Purple Cress.

Eastern Comma Butterfly

A couple Eastern Garter Snakes  awakened to check out the territory.  

One decided to explore further.

Happy Spring, everyone.

Steve's Visit...March 1, 2 and 3, 2019

I found it hard to believe that I didn't take one photo of Steve the entire weekend.  This is one I took at Christmas.

Our entire weekend was centered around Steve...except for the time when our new mattress arrived and was set up by the delivery men.

Before Steve arrived, Tom made a strawberry pie for the three of us for supper.  The strawberries were brought up from Florida by the Newton FFA students as a money making project.  They brought back memories of the years Tom and I had gone to Florida and watched the Strawberry Festival parade with my sister.

The next morning, Steve and I walked at Charleston Falls.  Instead to walking to the falls, we walked to Cedar Pond.  Steve told me he hadn't seen any Red-winged blackbirds yet this year and I knew we would see some at the the pond.  We heard them singing before the pond was in sight.

Back home again, I made oven beef stew while we waited for the new mattress to arrive.  It arrived about 11:30, exactly when we were told to expect it.  Because the delivery team was so prompt we were able to leave right after lunch for the expedition Tom had planned.

As you might guess, it involved Steve's favorite subject...trains.

We didn't have much luck seeing trains but we did find a diamond, an intersection of two railroad lines in a tiny town, Quincy, Ohio.  Tom drove us around in the area and he showed us an old railroad trestle which we think is still in use.

 The trestle over the road and the flood plain of the Great Miami River.

A view of the trestle crossing the Great Miami River

The supports of the bridge which raise the trestle above the floodplain.

As we headed back toward home, Tom stopped in Sidney so Steve could see the railroad viaduct.  Steve said  his dad had taken him to see it one time.

We were close to the viaduct in time to see the rear end of a train.  Steve was disappointed that he didn't see the engine.

The next morning I fried French Toast and for dessert! we had strawberry shortcake.  Tom made the shortcake biscuit from his mother's recipe.

Then our friend, Pat, Steve, Tom and I drove down to Cheviot to see The Drama Workshop's production of  Love, Loss and What I Wore.

It was different from most plays.  Five actresses presented 28 brief sketches centered around the title's theme.  Each scene required the actresses to transform to different characters so they had a continuing challenge.  Among the scenes were those centering on prom gowns, the little black dress, shoes, nothing to wear.  It wasn't a play especially interesting to Steve but he got to see his theater friends.

The weather on the trip down was windy and snowy.  When we left the theater there was snow cover and snow continuing to fall.  Because we had an hour and a half drive north, we didn't take Steve to supper as we usually do.  We dropped him off at his apartment, stopped at the McDonald's Drive Through for sandwiches and headed toward home.  Snow and poor visibility plagued us but we made it safely back.