April 28

Saturday was a good day at Forest Hill for a hike with my dog, Remi. The early morning weather was mostly cloudy with a temperature of 37 degrees and a slight east wind. At the crest of the hill, I paused to ponder the view to the west. I descended the hill, passed Mallard Marsh and meandered through Bobolink Meadow, where I noticed many Dandelion blossoms had gone to seed. I followed the trail into North Woods where I spotted a few Yellow Violets. Continuing west, I came to the boardwalk and paused to look over the overflowing vernal pond. Before exiting the woods, I got off the trail and continued west about 30 yards to find a patch of Wild Leeks or Ramps. The mountain folk of Appalachia have long celebrated spring with the arrival of the ramp, believing it to have great power as a tonic to ward off many ailments of winter. Indeed, ramp's vitamin and mineral content did bolster the health of people who went without many green vegetables during the winter. Much to my surprise, I also saw my first Trillium growing close by. This is one of many plants whose seeds are spread by ants. At maturity, the base and core of the trillium ovary turns soft and spongy. The ants take the seeds and the decaying ovary to their nest, where they eat the ovary and put the seeds in their garbage, where they germinate in a rich growing medium. Exiting the woods, I followed the trail around Succession Field, where I noticed it was dotted with very tiny white blossoms of Thyme-leaf Speedwell. Continuing on, I stopped to observe and smell the white blossoms on a Wild Black Cherry tree. While standing there, I recalled earlier in the week being excited to see and hear a rare male Ruby Crowned Kinglet perched on a tree nearby. I suspected this small bird was heading to its summer breeding habitat in the spruce-fir forests of the northern, mountainous United States or Canada. Next, I got off the trail to investigate a small tree that had a silky nest of Tent Caterpillars attached to it. I entered South Woods and hiked along the edge of Swanson Swamp where I observed several spore stalks of Sensitive Fern. Exiting the woods, I continued past Artist Overlook along the edge of Sora Swale. I turned east and then turned south off the trail to the edge of the neighbor’s field to observe a patch of white flowers of Hoary Cress, considered a noxious weed by farmers. Back on the south trail, I came to Frog Fen and turned toward Brady Cemetery. I passed the cemetery and entered Native Grassland to see that it was greening up since the controlled burn 3 weeks ago. I continued north past Grebe Pond and came to the Classroom Building where I spotted a rabbit sitting on the lawn. Finally, we jumped in the van and took off for civilization.

Signs of spring are here and there

Woods trail is muddy and bare

Colorful blossoms dot the ground

Pond frogs make their sound

Wood ducks takes to flight

Awakened squirrel is in sight

Call of a goose is loud and clear

Woodpecker drums very near

Blades of grass peak through

Giving the meadow a greenish hue

Returning Grebes begin to dive

Mother Nature is coming alive.

D. DeGraaf