Busy week

My busy season is officially in full-swing. This post is simply intended to be a quick update on what I've been up to lately. I hope to post more about my recent travels in separate posts as I have time.

Last Saturday, I led a hike at Bendix Woods Nature Preserve in St. Joseph County, Indiana for Shirley Heinze Land Trust.

The woods were exploding with color; white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum), false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum), dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria), squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis), and Canada violet (Viola canadensis) cast a white glow across the forest floor.
Splotches of yellow indicated the presence of wood poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum), while prairie trillium (Trillium recurvatum) and blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) dotted the forest floor with reds and blues, respectively.

We encountered a brief thunderstorm while on our walk, but once that passed, we were again able to enjoy the wonderful wildflowers at this old-growth forest. Lindsay even found the rare apetalous form of white trillium. The petal-less flowers are said to be a mutation that occurs periodically in this species.

On Sunday morning, I left home to botanize in Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia with Justin Thomas, at an event to be know from this point forward as Trillium Tromp 2009.

As the name suggests, our primary targets were trilliums, but we had a great time enjoying a multitude of other species, including the Federally Endangered green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila). I will certainly post more on this trip at a later date.

Bashful wakerobin (Trillium catesbaei)

Sweet Betsy (Trillium cuneatum)

Furrowed wakerobin (Trillium sulcatum)

Green pitcher plant (Sarracenia oreophila)

Thursday morning, I left our campsite near the Sock Capital of the World (Fort Payne, Alabama, of course) and arrived home around 7:30 PM.

I washed clothes and re-packed for a camping weekend in northwest Ohio. While staying at Maumee Bay State Park, we birded at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, and Metzger Marsh, tallying 105 bird species (including Prairie Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Summer Tanager, Snowy Egrets, Trumpeter Swans, and numerous Bald Eagles), in addition to Northern Leopard Frogs, Painted Turtles, and Blanding's Turtles.

Lindsay and I arrived home tonight in time to mow the lush jungle known as our lawn. Tomorrow, it's back to the real world, as I head back to work.

Happy Birthday to Me!

On April 16, I turned 30! One of the birthday gifts I enjoyed the most was a 70-degree day. With such beautiful weather, Bootypants and I had to go to Potato Creek for a hike. As you can see, the idea of the park always brings a smile to Booty's face.
Trail 4 is our favorite trail and we have been to the park a few times already this year to walk the trail. Many of the wildflowers that we had previously seen on Trail 4 were now flowering. Bloodroot was seen in multiple places along the 2.4 mile trail.

We also saw Yellow Trout Lily (one of my favorites).

Our good friend Mute Swan was also enjoying the beautiful weather (though he didn't have much to say).

This was the first time I had seen False Rue Anemone flowering this year.

Dutchman's Breeches was also flowering, though we only found it in one spot on the trail.

We also saw Downy Yellow Violet in flower.

Overall, it was a great hike. We got to see many plants, heard lots of birds, and really enjoyed a beautiful afternoon outdoors. In an attempt to capture the scenery and my favorite birthday companion I got this award winning photo. Can you guess who is having a great time and who is just humoring me?