July 2

Saturday was a good day at Forest Hill for a hike with my dog, Remi.  The late morning weather was mostly sunny with a steady breeze out of the northwest and a humid 84 degrees.  Before descending the hill toward Mallard Marsh, I gazed to the west and marveled at the lush summer landscape. How things had changed since the stark, snowy scene of six months ago. Walking through Bobolink Meadow, I saw a few white-flowered Yarrow plants. This plant, often mistaken for Queen Anne’s Lace, was used by Native Americans as an herbal medicine. The stalk was chewed or stewed to induce sweating to "break" fevers and colds. They also pounded the stalks into a pulp to be applied to bruises, sprains, and swelling. Continuing my hike, I noticed several pink, spherical flower-clusters of Common Milkweed along with their wonderful scent. Soon I’ll begin to search for the colorful Monarch Caterpillars on the leaves. At the entrance to North Woods, I turned south and headed toward Willow Wallow where I noticed a small patch of Nut Sedges to the right of the trail. Arriving at Willow Wallow, I saw that the cattails on the near shore were at least seven feet tall blocking my view of the pond. I followed the trail around Succession Field where I spotted a few yellow blossoms of Field Clover hidden in the tall grass. I arrived at Artist Overlook where I observed a heavy layer of pond scum on Sora Swale. I continued along the south trail and saw some yellow, star-like blossoms of St. John’s wort. In some countries, such as Germany, this plant is commonly used as an herbal treatment for mild depression, especially in children and adolescents. Following the trail east, I noticed a small patch of Porcupine Sedges. I turned south at Frog Fen and walked toward Brady Cemetery where I observed several Wild Grape vines covering one of the small White Pine trees. At the entrance to Native Grassland, I was surprised to see a patch of Northern Bush Honeysuckle with their delicate yellow-orange blossoms. Moving on, I noticed some beautiful purple blossoms of Alfalfa as well as two attractive Purple Coneflowers.  Following the trail north, I observed several patches of the pale, rusty-colored flower-clusters of Curly Dock.  I continued hiking along the edge of Grebe Pond where I recalled yesterday catching a rare glimpse of the seven-member goose family that had made this pond their home for the last two months. As I hiked along, I saw some yellow, Dandelion-like blossoms of Wild Lettuce. Finally, I arrived back at the Classroom Building, got in the van, turned on the air conditioning and headed for home.

The linden, in the fervors of July,

Hums with a louder concert. When the wind


Sweeps the broad forest in its summer prime,

As when some master-hand exulting sweeps


The keys of some great organ, ye give forth


The music of the woodland depths, a hymn


Of gladness and of thanks.

 William Cullen Bryant