Monday, June 8, 2015

Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, May 22nd (Part 1)

May 22nd. When I visited Fort Yargo State Park in mid-February, there were few signs of Spring. The only wildflower plants that were obvious were the leaves of Cranefly Orchids (Tipularia discolor) that I found in many places.



The route… I’ve described it here, here, here, and here This walk doesn’t have the variety of wildflowers as my other walk from the Group A Shelter to the Old Fort but it does have some gems. One of the Smallflower (Asimina parviflora) had developed fruit, the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) Orchids had bloomed, and some Green Adder’s-mouth (Malaxis unifolia) Orchids were beginning to bloom. 


I had crossed the open area of the trail to the first climb. I often think about snakes on this section because it’s where I had my first encounter with a Black Rat Snake (Elaphe [Pantherophis] obsoleta obsoleta) on March 27th. Once I’m past that section of the trail I start thinking about other things. So I was pulled up short when I suddenly realized I was about two steps from treading on…



a young Black Rat Snake. It was making its way across the trail. It had frozen in the characteristic ‘kinked’ pose when I saw it; it had obviously seen me before I saw it. I wasn’t prepared and it took a couple of minutes to adjust my camera. It was feeling safe enough to move again and I only got one shot before it left. Lucky shot.



It was a sunny day. The woods were lit brightly for a change.



I made my way up ‘The Hill’ and found the…



fruit still attached to the Smallflower Pawpaw (Asimina parviflora). Sadly, it had disappeared before my next visit on May 28th. I’m surprised that it had developed as far as it did on such a small bush. 


I made my way up the trail and found a lot of damselflies basking in the sun. Most were…



Blue-fronted Dancers (Argia apicalis). I also found a…



Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) in the grass beside the trail. This is the first Red-banded Hairstreak I have ever seen.



The Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) flowers had lost their petals. Now to watch the fruit develop. 


The trail past the Tulip Poplar meets up with the Outer Trail down to the dam. In an open grassed area along this trail I found a…



Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) sunning itself on a branch.

The grass along the north side of the dam had been mowed. A narrow strip of vegetation remained along the waters edge.



A few Helmet Flowers (Scutellaria integrifolia) were blooming in this grass. Nearby, a ...



wild rose that I think is a Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris), was also blooming.

When I climbed back up the dam, I found a…



particularly tall penstemon that I believe is an Smooth/Eastern Beardtongue (Penstemon laevigatus).

(To be continued…)

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