Putting Away the Ark and Getting Out the Camera

Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

Ok, ok, I know, everybody here in Ohio is tired of the ark jokes.  Just to fill you in, if you live somewhere else, it has been the rainiest April EVER in the recorded history of Ohio with 13.52 inches of rain!  Yeah, kinda insane.  Consequently, the ark jokes overfloweth.

Though we are all water-logged here, the good news is that the wildflowers and mushrooms have been more abundant than ever.  As I've been super duper busy with school and the countdown to finals, I haven't gotten around to posting the tons of pictures I've taken or writing about the spring blossomings (sorry).

So this will mostly be a picture gallery to catch you up.  Enjoy and don't forget to comment; I'd love to hear all about your spring adventures.

Redbud flowers (Cercis canadensis)

The buds and flowers of the Redbud are sooo tasty!  Great in salads.

Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

Ground ivy is a mint and removes lead from the body.

Dwarf Larkspur (Delphinium tricorne)

Ramps/Wild Leeks (Allium tricoccum)

Ramps are a native delicacy in some areas.  

Use like onions, especially good sauteed in olive oil with morels.

Sweet White Violet (Viola blanda) 

Toad Trillium (Trillium sessile)

Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)

Jacob's Ladder (Polemonium reptans)

Wild Ginger (Asarum canadense)

Wild Ginger flower

Tastes ginger-ish and grows in wet places.  This beautiful flower is pollinated by beetles.

May Apple (Podophyllum peltatum)

May Apple flower

Not sure if it's true, but I've heard it takes seven years for May Apples to fruit.  All parts of the plant are poisonous, except for the ripe fruit, but good luck getting some before the local fauna.

Dogwood flower (Cornus canadensis)

This was a sweet shot of this dogwood blossom after it had fallen onto some deadwood.  

Lots of fallen dogwood flowers litter the ground after all the storms lately.

Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia) 

Shooting Star

This was the first time I've seen these in the wild.  Awesome!

Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)

I love the fantastic fantasy-like colors and shape of these.

Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra)

Ohio Buckeye

Ah, the state tree.

Germinating acorns 

This was so cool to see a bunch of these germinating right in the middle of the muddy trail today.

Paw paw flower Asimina triloba)

One of my very favorite plants and fruits!  The flower is pollinated by flies.  Some people tie bags of rotten meat in the trees to attract the pollinators.  The paw paw is the largest native fruit in North America.  It tastes like banana custard, yum!

The Magical Morel Mushrooms (Morchella spp.)

Morels are another local delicacy.  The tastiest mushroom!  It's always an adventure morel hunting; some days you'll find one, some days you'll find twenty.  They smell and taste earthy and tempting.  With the ridiculous amount of rainfall we've had, they are popping up more this year, often in the most unexpected places.

Some people say all this rain is a natural progression, like the ice ages, some say it's climate change, some say it's a spiritual lesson about slowing down.  Maybe it's all of the above, but it definitely makes me think about what water means to to life . . . and how fun it is to jump in puddles!

What I've Been Waiting For! (or Hallelujah It's Finally Freaking Spring!)

Woohoo, it's Spring, Happy Spring!
We had a delightful hike in Spring Grove Cemetery today.  It was such beautiful poetic justice: in Spring Grove, we saw the first spring beauty flowers, on the first day of Spring!  I couldn't believe how many flowers are blossoming right now.  The spring ephemerals are out.  They're called that because they only blossom for a short time, then they're gone.  So catch 'em quick!

I just couldn't wait to share these wonders.  So, here they are for your viewing pleasure:

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

The first Trout Lily (white) and the last Winter Aconite (yellow) (Erythronium albidum, Eranthis hyamelis)

Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica)

I hope this inspires you to get out in the woods and take a hike!

Today's Adventure

I have Spring Fever, bad!  I had the flu for the beginning of the week, but managed to ward off the majority of it with the help of herbs; I'm so grateful to the plants.  I was about to lose it, huddled up inside my stuffy apartment while the weather is so gorgeous with the first tinges of Spring.  

So today I finally got out for a hike with one of my besties, Dan.  Dan calls best friends, besties.  We can be super silly together.  We started this "Friday hikey hike" (as he calls it) about two years ago.  And almost every Friday since we have hiked in sun, rain, snow, wind, or whatever.  Others come and go, but we hold strong because we have this undying love of the woods (and somewhat flexible schedules).  Seriously, if I don't get out in the woods everyday, I start to get cranky. A little obsessive? Yes!

Sunday I saw the very first spring ephemeral wildflower, Harbinger of Spring!  I wait with as much patience as I can muster to see these amazing tiny beauties.  The sight of them gives me so much hope.  It's like an analogy for life: just like nature is reborn every spring over and over again, so we have the opportunity for rebirth over and over again, to make ourselves into who we dream to be.

Harbinger of Spring

Harbinger of Spring, or Erigenia bulbosa, is in the Apiaceae, or carrot, family.  It's also been called Pepper and Salt because it tastes like guess what.  I think it's pretty tasty myself.  It's native to this area and all of the midwest, spreading north to Canada and south almost to Florida, west to Kansas and east to New York.

Here's some other pics I'm excited about from today's hike.

Witch hazel in bloom

Look close and you can see the first tiny trout lily buds

Somebody has got to figure out how to make a bench or something out of this.  Wish I could lift it!

The coolest beech log in the world!

And then, when I got  home:

Garter snake sunning itself under the overcast sky

Hope you enjoyed our first adventure.  Let me know what you think.

Yay and Welcome!

Hooray you made it!  Welcome to my brand new blog, I'm glad you're here!  If you haven't noticed yet, I really like exclamation points.  I am very colorful (I'm actually wearing rainbows and stars right now), and tend to get excited about the small stuff.

My two favorite things to do are spend time with my daughter and hike.  People are amazed by the latter favorite when they find out I live in Cincinnati (of all places).  But Cincinnati actually has a ginormous amount of greenspace, 5000 acres in the city!  I am a total experiential scientist.  I love to strap on my binoculars, my camera, my boots, head into the woods, and get dirty.  With mothering and hiking, I found out that if you take things slowly enough you notice all kinds of amazing things that you might never see or hear otherwise, and sometimes you avoid some nasty falls (in mothering and hiking).

So brew up a tasty cup of tea (in the not too distant past, I had my own tea company), strap on your virtual boots and let's go on an adventure!  And I really would love to hear all about your adventures, too!