Hepatica!
Marie kindly drove us to Aman Park March 30, 2026. Aman Park is in Ottawa County Michigan. We knew it was a bit early to see many flowers, but we saw my favorite wildflower - Hepatica. Each plant is unique and can be white, pink, or purple. I especially like the deep purple ones. Here are a few more Hepatica.
And one blooming Purple Cress.
Along Sand Creek at Aman Park, we found a sandy shore so we explored for a few minutes. There were two friendly Mourning Cloak butterflies here. One landed right by my boot!
We wandered at a slow pace along the creek trail for 2 miles and almost 3 hours. It was a beautiful day. The temperature hit 70 degrees with a slight cooling breeze. We did keep an eye out for Harbinger of Spring but we didn’t see it at Aman. So, Marie took us to Hager Park, also in Ottawa County.
At Hager Park near a picnic area, there are hundreds of Harbinger of Spring plants and this year there seemed to be even more than usual! We spent a little more time at Hager Park walking and looking.
Then it was time to head home. About 25 miles back to my house, then Marie has another 33 miles to her home. Thanks Marie for the driving!
I also had a fun walk that evening with Mike and Betsy at Connor Bayou Park. We didn’t see flowers blooming, but we did see turtles sunning themselves!
Connor Bayou in Ottawa County Michigan
What a great day!
4 comments:
What beautiful photos! You captured the day perfectly. In fact, I don't see as much as your camera does, so the photos are much appreciated. So many colors of Hepatica. The Harbinger-of-Spring, also known as Salt and Pepper, really were the size of a grain of salt or pepper. I especially like the photo of your boots in the water. Even without a beautiful flower, your photos are fantastic. Thanks for posting! M
Thanks Marie. I really enjoyed the day and I like how you plot a different route to places we have been many times. I could drive but I also like that you drive us. I see much more in the photos too. Especially now, but I’ve always liked the up close pictures, the camera see more than my eyes see. The water is so clear in that photo with my boots and all those curious swirls in the water. And best of all Hepatica!
Beautiful! I've still never found hepatica or harbinger of spring here. You're very lucky to have them, and the early butterflies! We've been in the doldrums with cold, rainy weather so spring is at a crawl compared to last year.
I'm glad you two sisters are still able to get out together and show us such beautiful things. Thanks for that!
Thanks, Allen. Hepatica are just so simply pretty, not fancy or showy. Harbinger of Spring is very small and difficult to spot.
We have been cool and rainy here too. Just one day of 70 degrees so far. Nothing is really blooming yet, the blooming hepatica was 20 miles east of here. It isn’t blooming in my neighborhood. I’m hoping it will be a longer bloom time for them.
Marie and I are very lucky to be able to go out together. Maybe we can go to Hepatica Hill south of here, we know of a south facing slope where hepatica grow!
🙂
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