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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