Heber Down Conservation Area -- April 21st, 2011

Another visit to Heber Down. It's been a strange Spring with the weather and cooler than most of us would like it to be. The Spring Ephemerals are slowly  emerging, but only slowly.

The Wild Leeks are doing well.

They're taking over the forest floor. This is one of the larger patches. You get a whiff of onion now & then as you're walking.

The Trout Lilies are coming along too-- so named because the mottled leaves look like Brook Trout. They should soon be showing their yellow blossoms. Despite the fact that there are 1000s of them in the woods, only a small number of them will bloom. Apparently the plants have to be a few years old before they flower.

Brook Trout

 

Trilliums...

 

I think they're beautiful even at this stage. The leaves are a gorgeous green with a hairline burgundy stripe around the leaf edges.

This one is further along...

An unusual fungus in a tree cavity...

 

The moss will soon win the battle and completely cover the rock.

 

Blue Cohosh  (though it's more purple) is another spring ephemeral that pokes through the leaves at this time of year. It always stands out from all the green leafed ones.

 

Soon the leaves will unfurl, the buds will open and the tiny yellow flower will make itself known. The ephemerals are all low-growing so they're a real challenge for me with my aging back.

We came across this tree on the way back to the car. I've never seen anything like it. It  looks like there were a couple of small explosions inside the trunk. Weird.