We joined a Green Mountain Club walk at Niquette Bay State Park to locate and delight in spring "ephemera": the lovely little wildflowers that appear out of winter's dark and cold, bloom for a few days only, and then disappear until the following spring.
Spring ephemera are a little late this year because of the cold and dark April, but many of the white kind of trillium seemed to open during the two hours of our walk.
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| Large White Trillium |
Purple Trillium goes by many names including Red Trillium, Wake Robin and Stinking Benjamin - an awful name for such a beauty!
Spring wildflowers last for such a short time that many of us wanted to capture the beauties on film.
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| Bloodroot |
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| Early Meadow Rue |
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| Hepatica |
and these lovely little Elf Cup fungi.
A very large tree had toppled over, bringing with it the humongous rock around which its roots had grown. (We think the smooth reddish-purple rock is Monkton Quartzite.)
Near the parking lot is an intricate "critter home" or critter box, with places for solitary bees, wasps, caterpillars, beetles, spiders, frogs, toads, snakes, and other small living things that are vital for a healthy habitat.
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| Dutchman's Breeches |
The stiff orangey-red flowers of Wild Ginger aren't immediately apparent. They hide low to the ground, partially hidden by the plant's leaves.
We were momentarily distracted from the beauty at our feet by a loud and energetic game of tag involving four Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers: from tree to tree, up and down trunks, darting over our heads, squawking and calling all the while. We also saw or heard chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, White-throated Sparrows, cardinals, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Brown Creepers and several others.
Here are some more pictures of the flowers of spring, taken by our leader Sheri.
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| Bloodroot |
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| Dutchman's Breeches |
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| Early Saxifrage |
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| Large-flowered Bellwort |
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| Trout Lily, also called Dog-tooth Violet |
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