Oak

The oaks are turning color slower than normal this year, drought related I'm sure, but finally they are turning! 

Fall 2009

Hepatica

Lots of lovely hepatica in the woods this evening!

Tendrils

Spring Beauty

I believe this is Spring Beauty (Claytonia lancelota) but I could be wrong the leaves are a bit narrow but after last years floods and this past winter being so bitter anything is possible at this point. There were only two sepals on each blossom, will know more by the weekend as more things will be in bloom.

Hepatica

Hepatica

Soper's Mill on the north trail.

Hepatica in Bloom

A fleeting beauty and a wonderously timed walk in the woods. Hepatica blooms for about a day maybe two and then the show is over. Today was my lucky blessed day as there was hepatica and everywhere in full showy bloom!

I don't remember if I was out early enough last year to find hepatica in bloom or not, the blossoms look like a lot of other small flowers in bloom right now.

Butterflly Weed

Asclepias tuberosa (Asclepiadaceae) or Butterfly Weed

Jack in the Pulpit

Here you can barely see a blossom on the other side of the leaves, this plant is on the immature side still.

A rather healthy grouping of Jack in the Pulpit, the leaves have grown up to dwarf the blossoms, in some places you can see the blossoms peaking through the leaves.

Here are the leaves, it took Brenda and I three tries to find this patch, in the span of a week it's leaves had grown up over the blossoms hiding them and quite well.