Spring Beauty
Box Turtle
Hofma Perserve - Grand Haven Township Park
First blooming Orchid for me this year at Stearns Creek Park, Pink Lady's Slipper
Wood Sorrel
Royal Fern
This beaver spied Mike and I from about 400 feet across the water. It came fast towards us, then swam back and forth in front of us. Every so often it would slap its tail and dive under the water. We watched it for a few minutes, I took some video with my phone, then we left the area.
Today it is 93 degrees! We went from a nice cool spring, to hot summer days! Spring always seems to go fast, it was a good spring.
Take Care!
I'd love to see some squaw root and cedar apple rust. I've never seen either one.
ReplyDeleteThe nodding trilliums I see have deep purple anthers, so I'm not sure if yours is or isn't. Some plants have anthers that turn color with age.
I hope the flooding wasn't too serious. I heard about the dams bursting and hoped you and Jerry wouldn't be swamped by it. As if we don't have enough other things to worry about!
We have lots of Squaw Root here in our woods, so it must like something here in the soil. I’ve seen Cedar Apple Rust before but never this big and orange, or with those finger like things sticking out! The trillium, I guess I should have gotten a better closeup, I read about the differences, but I just wasn’t sure which one.
ReplyDeleteThe floods caused by dams failing were in Midland about 100+ miles to the east from me, and ~80 miles from Jerry’s area, pretty much across the state. In about 10 days we had over 14 inches of rain some areas even more. The river here, the Grand River, floods many houses regularly near here. The ground water level is high, Lake Michigan also has high levels and has caused erosion, many houses have been lost into the big lake.
Yes enough with other things causes big problems for many people. I guess that makes it even nicer to sit and watch a calm duck!
🙂
Yes, it was nice to watch that duck and believe I was "away from it all" but we never really are.
ReplyDeleteI love your picture-walks! :) I don't think I have ever seen squaw root, lupine, or cedar apple rust. Wood sorrel is a special plant for me. It was my first wild edible. My Dad taught me to know what it was. We always called it Sour Grass. I don't know if anyone else calls it that. I have never met anyone who knew what I was talking about when I said Sour Grass.
ReplyDeleteThings are pretty flooded around us, too. We are in North/Central Illinois.
Sister in the Midwest, thank you I’ m glad you enjoyed the picture walk! Squaw root grows here in our woods, Lupine I transplanted from a gravel road that was being graded, so I guess it is rescued Lupine!
ReplyDeleteI’ve never heard of Sour Grass, or that you could eat Wood Sorrel. I just go by common names too, Growing up we called hepatica Mayflowers, and we ate the flowers. And Columbine we called Honeysuckle, we ate parts of those flowers. Stump mushroom hunting with my dad was a fun time too.
The flooded river has gone down some, it does cause problems. We live near the Grand River in west Michigan but we are fairly dry here.
🙂
This is lovely. Thank you. :-) Western Michigan is so beautiful in spring! I think you have been a little warmer than we have been here in Central Texas! We cooled off a little this week.
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing of sour grass. I actually can't remember if it was the yellow-flowered variety or the pink-flowered. My mom grew the pink flowered type in a pot, I think. I remember a friend having a large pot full of it. I am thinking that is what I heard called sour grass. My mom called it Oxalis.
Mary Stephens Thanks I’m glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteOur oldest son lives in Texas, the day we were 94 degrees, he had 72 degrees! It is usually the other way around. I much prefer the cooler temperatures, and most of our spring was cool.
I learned something now, Sour Grass. Oxalis, family group for wood sorrel, local common names sour grass or pickle plant.
Growing up we did eat some plants from around our property, including cattail root! My dad was a hunter and trapper, so we probably ate things like ducks and turkeys. We raised rabbits, always had a hunting dog, with seven kids in the family there were many mouths to feed.
🙂