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Erm, have we skipped a few months?

>> Sunday, March 18, 2012

Saturday dawned sunny, warm, and glorious, and feeling like May.  Alas, my husband, who is my usual woods walking companion, had to work.  However, my dear friend M also felt the itch to wander outdoors in all the sunshine with cameras.  He'd never been to Clark Reservation before, so I decided to take him there.


Clark Reservation was the perfect place to go.  I was afraid that some other parks (like Green Lakes) would be far, far too popular in that amazing weather, but Clark Reservation never seems overcrowded.  We had most of the trails to ourselves.



It was a glorious day for both the walk and the photography.  Poor M arrived there, took out his camera, and discovered he didn't have his SD card for it.  Oops.  Bless him, he still had infinite patience with my photography efforts, stopping and waiting for me without complaint.

I loved some of the shots that look like abstract art.





We found some very surprising early early flowers.  Bloodroot Hepatica (thanks Woodswalker!) (which according to this blog I believe the earliest I've ever seen is April 3):

some Trout Lilies just getting started but not in bloom,

and Myrtle,

which was in blossom on a prior visit to Clark Reservation on May 4, 2010.  I hope these poor brave flowers aren't shocked by a snowfall this year, but according to the forecasts I think they will shortly be joined by a lot of other early spring flowers, all at once.

Even the turtles had decided to emerge from their mud to sun themselves.



M gets the credit for spotting this shot of moss:

And M also gets the credit for being brave enough to wade into the stream to get this shot:

Here he is, just about to wade in:

All in all, it was a magnificent way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  The sunshine was positively good for my soul, and the company excellent.  I confess I am concerned about the implications of this weather relative to climate change.  But there's another part of me that is just basking in the glory of 70+ degree days and worrying about sunburn... in March.  I remember the blizzard of '93 happened in March.  What a contrast!

Enjoy the rest of my shots from the day.





4 comments:

Jacqueline Donnelly March 18, 2012 at 9:14 PM  

Oh, you certainly have an eye for finding the most beautiful shots! Lovely! Do you know if all those mossy rocks in the woods are limestone? If so, Clark Reservation would have a very rich soil, which would support some unusual flowers. Speaking of flowers, I believe your white flower is Hepatica, which does normally bloom a bit earlier than Bloodroot.

sarah March 19, 2012 at 10:26 AM  

next to last picture - !!! - thanks!

biobabbler March 20, 2012 at 11:34 AM  

wow. HOW delightful. I love catching moss when it's blooming--it's so CUTE! =) Wonderful shots, and glad you have a brave field assistant. =)

Ellen Rathbone March 20, 2012 at 2:27 PM  

I saw my only ever wild tiger salamander out at Clark Reservation. Beautiful place - never visited it anywhere near enough times.

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