Fall in St. Joseph County, Indiana

Potato Creek State Park

Potato Creek State Park

Mud Lake

Cooper discovers an Eastern Box Turtle at Potato Creek State Park.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from Lindsay, Scott, and Cooper!

 

 

The Legend of Bootypants, Part II

As seen in The Legend of Bootypants, Part I, Booty had already lived a legendary dog life by 2005, but she'd only lived about half of her life by that time.  The second half of her life is documented below.

Although Bootypants was never into swimming, she enjoyed having her feet in the water, especially on a hot summer day.  Photograph by Bryn Scriver/John Nondorf (2006).

For Booty's 10th birthday in February 2006, she had a smaller gathering join Scott and Lindsay at their house in South Bend to celebrate.  This party lacked the surprise of her 9th birthday party, but it didn't lack a delicious homemade birthday cake with raspberry filling. 

The cake made by Susan for Booty's 10th birthday (2006).

Bootypants had always wanted to revisit her home town of Van Buren, Missouri, and in July 2006 she had that opportunity when Scott and Lindsay were traveling there for Justin and Dana Thomas' five year wedding anniversary gathering.  Booty stayed in a cabin with the rest of the group and enjoyed hikes and bonfires the entire weekend.  It had been years since she had seen those Ozark woods and some of the loving people who initially took her in at Peck Ranch in the summer of 1998, but she seemed to remember them all... Justin Thomas, Brad Russell, Mike Williams, Bryn Scriver, and Matt Proett.  In addition to learning from Mike how to best cook bratwurst on a charcoal grill, she scored a vanilla ice cream cone from everyone's favorite Van Buren hangout, Jolly Cone.

On a camping trip in Van Buren, Missouri in 2006, Booty let Scott know that she wanted to learn plants.  Photograph by Bryn Scriver/John Nondorf.

In April 2007, Scott and Lindsay moved from South Bend to North Liberty, Indiana, and with a new (old) house came 11 acres on which Bootypants could roam and explore. Soon after moving in, Scott cut trails throughout the property, and Booty made good use of those trails nearly every day of her life.  Bootypants always had been a happy dog, but with this move it felt to Scott and Lindsay as though she was finally at home. 

By 2007, Booty had her own hand lens and was identifying grasses such as this Elymus canadensis (Canada wild rye) specimen.

The average dog lives just over 11 years.  Bootypants turned 11 in 2007, and it seemed she was really hitting the peak of her life at that time.  Clearly, Booty was not an average dog.

Christmas 2007 in North Liberty, Indiana.

Each spring, Bootypants enjoyed the annual Easter tradition of having both Scott's and Lindsay's families come to her house to visit her.  In addition to picking up dropped food from the floor, convincing Scott and Lindsay's niece Lily to hand over an entire Reese's Peanut Butter Egg, and getting the occasional bite of sweet potato casserole from Scott, she also enjoyed helping Chloe and Lily search for Easter eggs in the yard.

Booty always seemed more happy outside than inside, and she enjoyed Easter egg hunts like this one in 2009.

Unlike her mom, Booty was not a fair-weather hiker.  In fact, Booty might have preferred winter over the other three seasons.  She always insisted on going for walks on the trails on her property, regardless of how much snow was on the ground or the temperature.

On her winter walks, Bootypants loved to bury her face in the snow, as seen here in 2010.

That's not to say that Bootypants didn't also enjoy the spring, and a walk in the woods on a beautiful May afternoon was a pleasure for Scott and Lindsay as well.

More smiles!  Booty with Lindsay in a St. Joseph County mesic upland forest in spring 2010.

After a snowstorm in the winter of 2011 to 2012, Lindsay, understanding Booty's love of snow, decided to get creative and build a snow fort.  Booty invited her friend Lassie for an afternoon Pup-peroni snack.  After some coaxing, Lindsay was able to convince Booty to pose for a now infamous photo.

Bootypants and Lassie in their snow fort in 2011.  It appears that they had too much fun while Scott was at work.

In October 2011, Scott and Lindsay finally began to acknowledge that Bootypants had entered her "senior" years. Although she had been to the emergency vet on several occasions (for the cut on her eye and her encounter with another dog that were mentioned in the previous post, and also for falling down a flight of steps while visiting the Walczaks in Illinois), her first serious medical issue arose when Scott and Lindsay returned from a trip to Costa Rica.  Booty was sick, so Scott and Lindsay took her to the trusted Dr. Meyer and his wonderful crew at Meyer Veterinary Hospital in Walkerton, Indiana.  Sadly, Booty's diagnosis was liver failure.  Bootypants spent the night at Dr. Meyer's office, where she received IV fluids, antibiotics, and meds to help begin to reverse the liver failure. 

Back at home in North Liberty, Indiana after receiving fluids via IV following her liver failure diagnosis in October 2011.

Scott was scheduled to be in Madison, Wisconsin for work the day that Bootypants went to the vet.  Dr. Meyer explained that dogs in liver failure are unpredictable, and that he had seen dogs in Booty's shape pass right away, while others lived for several years after diagnosis.  It was a difficult decision, but Scott had to head to Wisconsin.  The following day, Lindsay picked up Bootypants and brought her home.  Booty vomited and slept, and was very weak.  Lindsay really wasn't sure if Booty was going to survive until Scott returned home, but being the trooper that she was, she eventually pulled through.  Scott returned a couple of days later, and he and Lindsay ordered Chinese food for dinner.  Booty hadn't eaten anything in several days, but she seemed interested in Lindsay's garlic chicken.  Lindsay jokingly asked Booty if she was going to eat the garlic chicken, then held a piece out on a fork.  To Scott and Lindsay's astonishment, she rapidly gobbled it up.  Lindsay then gave her several more pieces of garlic chicken.  For the next couple of weeks, Booty ate better than Scott and Lindsay, having fresh-cooked chicken and rice twice each day.  Eventually, she started eating her dog food again, but she had to take two different liver pills daily for the rest of her life.

In February 2012, Bootypants celebrated her 16th birthday by having lots of her friends over to her property in North Liberty, Indiana. And yes, those are pink Bootypants shirts.  Photograph by Sam Lima.

Booty's health scare made Scott and Lindsay realize that she needed another birthday party, so in February 2012 they held her 16th birthday party as a bonfire event.

A content Booty celebrates her sweet 16th.  Photograph by Sam Lima (2012).

Although Bootypants wasn't as energetic at her 16th birthday party as she was at her 9th and 10th, she definitely enjoyed the attention... and the cake. 

Birthday cake!  Photograph by Sam Lima (2012).

As at her other parties, there was a pretty good turnout for Booty's 16th birthday party. Video from Booty's surprise 9th birthday party was shown on the television, and Scott and Lindsay planned a couple of games and a "Booty Quiz" for party participants. Prizes for the game winners included Bootypants playing cards, Bootypants coasters, and an "I 'heart' Booty" mug.

Booty with some of her friends at her 16th birthday party.  Photograph by Sam Lima (2012).

As Booty aged, she developed arthritis in her back hips.  She slowed down more and more but still would go for walks and enjoyed spending time with Scott, Lindsay, and their friends and family.  Daily aspirin and Tramadol were added to the daily liver pills.  Booty despised taking pills, and eventually got to the point of knowing there was a pill in the middle of the cheese or lunch meat snack.  She would sniff out the pill, take it out of the cheese or lunch meat, and spit it out (but still eat the cheese or lunch meat).  She was opinionated, unique, and hilarious, and grew more so as she aged.

Over the years, Bootypants learned to open presents, as seen here at Christmas 2012.

Scott and Lindsay are grateful for the time they were able to spend with Bootypants over the years.  Booty was an amazing dog who lived a long, happy life.  The legend of Bootypants will never be forgotten.

Booty enjoyed a mid-day nap in August 2013.

The Legend of Bootypants, Part I

No one knows when the legend of Bootypants actually began, but our best guess is that Booty was born around February 1997.  Years later, we decided to make February 14, 1997 Booty's official birthday.  We don't know what she did for the first year-and-a-half of her life, but in the summer of 1998 Booty found her way to Peck Ranch near Van Buren, Missouri, where she met some of the women working on a seasonal bird crew.


As a puppy at Peck Ranch in Missouri (1998), Bootypants hadn't even learned how to sit correctly!  She always sat on her hip with both back legs to one side.

As fate would have it, Scott was working on a seasonal botany crew stationed at Peck Ranch that same summer.  When a woman named Summer from the birding crew brought a scraggly, emaciated blue heeler mix with mange, conjunctivitis, and numerous ticks back to the ranch, everyone immediately fell in love with the goofy dog with the black "bootypants."  The summer wore on, and although Red (the other stray dog that showed up that summer) wandered off, Bootypants didn't.  Each day the crews would return from the field expecting Bootypants to no longer be at the ranch, but each day she was still there.  Eventually, someone bought a bag of dog food and started feeding her.

A scrawny Bootypants as a puppy with floppy ears at Peck Ranch in Van Buren, Missouri (1998).

With the end of the summer came the end of the field crews' stay at Peck Ranch.  Some of Scott's coworkers were going back to college.  Others were moving on to another seasonal position in another location.  A few weren't sure what they were going to be doing after the Ozark seasonal positions ended.  Scott, on the other hand, had recently accepted a job in northern Indiana and expected to be there for a while.  Everyone agreed that Bootypants couldn't be left there after she had become accustomed to being fed at the ranch, so Scott made the decision to take Bootypants with him.  He didn't know it at the time, but this would turn out to be one of the best decisions of his life.

It wasn't a difficult decision for Scott to take Bootypants with him to Indiana!  Photograph by Bryn Scriver (1998).

After making this decision, Scott took Bootypants to the local veterinarian.  A bath, some pills, shots, and eye drops later, Scott returned Bootypants to Peck Ranch with just a few days remaining before the drive back to Ohio prior to moving to Indiana.  Booty apparently didn't care for the bath, because the next day after work Scott returned to the ranch to find Booty covered in engine oil.  Nothing another bath couldn't take care of!  Around that same time, Bryn Scriver bought Bootypants a leash and some hard rubber toys.  Booty responded by taking the toys into a wooded area and burying them.  No one ever saw those toys again.  Those who know Booty couldn't help but wonder if this was a clue as to Booty's life before Peck Ranch, where she might have had to fight for food and hide anything she could get.  On the last day that the field crews were at Peck Ranch, Booty grabbed a shirt from Justin Thomas' bag and chewed a hole in it, and she stole his underwear from the back of his truck.  Again, the underwear were buried in the gravelly Ozark soil, never to be seen again.

Bootypants and Scott on one of their last days in Missouri (1998).

All of these things, as well as vomiting and defecating when she rode in a vehicle, were part of the Booty charm.  However, before the 13 hour drive back to Painesville, Ohio, Scott gave Booty motion sickness medication, and she made it the entire way without an accident.  Scott and Booty spent their first night together in a smoky Illinois hotel room.  Booty must have been scared, not knowing where she was or what was going on, but you never would have known.  Just as with everything else in her life, she adapted very quickly.  Booty then spent the next week with Scott's parents, brother, and sister in Painesville while Scott got settled and found a place to live in LaPorte, Indiana.

Booty often sat like this in her favorite (nasty) chair, as she did in 1998 in LaPorte, Indiana after a bath.

While in LaPorte for the next six months, Bootypants settled into a life of digging holes all day long while Scott was at work and running laps from room to room through the apartment when people came to visit.  Booty was a good student, learning commands such as sit, down, shake, high five, and everyone's favorite, "bang, dead dog," very quickly.  However, she didn't really bark at all for the first several months that Scott knew her, so she didn't learn "speak" until a bit later in her life.  One of Booty's most unexpected tricks occurred on an evening when Scott had picked up a Pizza Hut pizza for dinner.  Up until that time, Booty had never had "people food" and wasn't much of a begger.  Scott put a couple of pieces of pepperoni pizza on a plate that was on the counter a good four feet off the ground.  Scott walked away, and when he turned around Booty leapt up, cleanly took one piece of pizza from the plate, and proceeded to run into another room to eat the pizza.  She never did anything like that again in her life.  During the snowy winter of 1998-1999, Bootypants learned how much she loved being in and playing in the snow, especially when it was so deep that it made it difficult to walk through.

Soon after moving to Indiana, Booty's right ear began to stand up, while her left ear was still floppy.  She loved the snow, and there was plenty during one storm event in winter 1999 in LaPorte, Indiana.

In 1999, Scott moved to an apartment in North Liberty, Indiana.  Up until that time, Bootypants had spent the days outside on a run, with the garage door open and her Dogloo in the garage.  You can imagine Scott's concern in moving to an apartment where Booty would have to spend the entire day in the house, considering that she was so full of energy as to dig holes (numerous holes) during the day when she lived in LaPorte.  On the first day at the new apartment, Scott came home from work at lunch to see what the damage was, but there was none.  From that day forward, Booty seemed to calm down and grow out of her puppy stage. 

In 1999, Lindsay, Bootypants, and Scott hiked frequently at Potato Creek State Park in St. Joseph County, Indiana.  Although Booty was always on a leash during their walks, she was well behaved from the time Scott met her and never really needed a leash.

Booty was always very respectful of others' property.  Aside from Justin's clothes mentioned previously, there was never any damage to furniture, carpets, or other materials.  Apparently, however, Booty had abandonment issues (maybe another sign of her past life).  Scott would occasionally go out of town for work or to visit friends and would leave Booty at home or at a kennel.  Booty quickly figured out that a large duffel bag or a suitcase in the kitchen meant that Scott would be gone for a couple of days.  One day Scott was getting ready to travel and left his luggage in the kitchen while he ran an errand.  Booty didn't know that she was going to go with Scott on this trip, and Scott returned to find a torn up couch cushion.  This happened only once; Bootypants felt bad afterwards.

Booty was a little leery of opening presents at first, as she was in this photograph at Scott's apartment in North Liberty, Indiana (c. 1999).

It was while living in North Liberty that Scott and Bootypants first met Lindsay, and Lindsay quickly became an important part of both of their lives.  Scott and Bootypants would make frequent visits to Valparaiso University on weekends to visit Lindsay while she finished college.  On one of these trips, Lindsay was taking Bootypants in her car and decided that maybe it was a good idea to not feed Booty immediately before the car ride.  Bootypants never vomited or had an accident in a car again from that day forward, and in fact she began to enjoy car rides.  She quickly learned the words "park," "ride," and "Ohio."

By 2000, Bootypants had lost a lot of her puppy tendencies, and she had learned how to sit, as seen here in Painesville, Ohio.

Bootypants wasn't a fan of rumble strips.  On a trip to Ohio, just west of "dead man's curve" on I-90/SR-2, Booty woke from her sleep and jumped into the front of Scott's Dodge Shadow when the car went over the rumble strips, knocking the gear shift from drive into neutral.  Scott and Lindsay then learned to prepare Booty for the rumble strips prior to hitting them, and Bootypants never had an issue with rumble strips again.

Booty stared down the party pig after the infamous party pig night (morning), c. 2000.

While living in North Liberty, Booty met Sidney, a yellow lab who lived downstairs from Scott's apartment.  Sidney loved to chase tennis balls; Booty loved to chase Sidney and herd her back to Scott and Lindsay with the ball.  Scott and Lindsay really enjoyed watching both dogs do what they were bred to do, Sidney without regard to Booty and Booty without regard to the ball.

Booty didn't like posing for photos, but she was always a good sport, as seen here in Scott's North Liberty, Indiana apartment, c. 2000.

It was while Scott was living in North Liberty that Booty first demonstrated one of her other quirks.  When emergency vehicles with sirens would go by the house, Booty would howl along.  However, her "howl" was either at a frequency that humans couldn't hear or it was a mostly silent howl.  The howl was hilarious, dramatic, and difficult to describe.  It was somewhat throaty and airy, and it still isn't clear whether she was doing it to sound like the sirens or just to make people laugh.

Lindsay and Scott thought Booty needed a new toy, so they bought her a near life-sized "Lassie" for Christmas (c. 2001).

In 2002, Lindsay, Scott, and Bootypants bought a house in South Bend, Indiana, where Booty enjoyed having an entire fenced-in yard to herself.  It was here that Booty continued to make lifelong friends with new neighbors who were introduced to her.

At her first owned house (in South Bend, Indiana), Booty posed yet again (c. 2004).  By this time, both of her ears stood upright, and her body had filled out.

As Booty's 9th birthday was approaching, Lindsay and Scott got the idea that it would be fun to hold a surprise birthday party for her.  They realized that Booty was too smart and would have expected a party on her 10th birthday.  Plans were made, and many of Booty's friends made the trip to South Bend to celebrate with her.

One of the cakes at the surprise birthday party held for Booty's 9th birthday. Photograph by Bryn Scriver (2005).

No birthday party is complete without a birthday cake.  Lindsay ordered a "people food" cake specifically for the occasion (can you imagine what the baker/decorator was thinking making this cake?).  Some of Booty's friends were thinking more of Bootypants and made her a dog food, dog biscuit, Vienna sausage, and cheese stick cake.  Booty enjoyed both of these tremendously.

The dog cake made by Anne and Bert for Booty's 9th birthday party.  Scott might or might not have helped Booty finish the cake.  Photograph by Bryn Scriver (2005).

On the day of the party, Scott kept Bootypants downstairs with the door closed for the hour or so that people were arriving.  Scott and Booty could hear noises upstairs, and Scott could tell that Booty was getting very anxious.  Finally the moment came when Lindsay opened the door.  Bootypants bolted up the steps and first into the kitchen where people had packed the room and were blowing noisemakers and yelling "surprise!" and "happy birthday!"  Booty quickly greeted each one of those people before running into the living room to do the same.  That was one happy dog!

That's one happy dog, at her surprise party when she realized how many people were there to see her.  Photograph by Bryn Scriver (2005).

Scott and Lindsay quickly realized that Booty had more friends than they did.  The states of Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, and possibly one more were all represented at Booty's surprise 9th birthday party. 

Another shot of the birthday girl in the scarf that Bryn made for her.  Photograph by Bryn Scriver (2005).

On most occasions when Scott and Lindsay had friends over, Booty would stay awake for a while but she would eventually go to bed before the others or leave them on their own to have fun.  On her 9th birthday, however, Booty understood that it was her party, and as a result she stayed awake and interactive the entire time, until everyone had gone home or to bed.  This was possibly one of the most fun and exciting days of Booty's life.

A favorite Bootypants photograph in South Bend, Indiana (c. 2005).

Bootypants liked having company at her house, but she also often traveled with Scott and Lindsay.  She would join in on regular trips to Ohio and Illinois, always eager to see family and friends.

A Booty Burrito (c. 2005).

Scott and Lindsay went on a lot of camping and birding trips in the early 2000s, and Bootypants always was excited to join them.  Booty made trips to various camping and birding destinations in Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio during her life.  She particularly enjoyed hanging out with everyone by the campfire, but also looked forward to going on walks in new places.

Booty loved to camp, as seen in this photograph at Hardin Ridge in Hoosier National Forest in 2005.

Another of Booty's favorite pastimes was going for walks or hikes, especially when they involved going to new places with new smells.  On some occasions, Scott and Lindsay would take Booty off-trail with them, as was the case at Holaday Fen in Marshall County, Indiana.  While Scott investigated the flora and Lindsay looked for birds, Booty enjoyed the fresh air and the animal tracks while marking her territory repeatedly.  Unfortunately, Booty learned the plant Rice Cut Grass (Leersia oryzoides) at Holaday Fen, resulting in her first trip to the emergency vet for a cut on her cornea.

Booty loved to hike, as seen at Holaday Fen in Marshall County, Indiana (2005).

Booty's next emergency vet trip came during a Christmas trip to Ohio in 2005.  While visiting Scott's parents, Scott took Bootypants out for her evening bathroom break and they were rudely greeted by the dog from next door, which was loose.  Scott was trying to fend off the dog while he was unknowingly lifting Booty up by her leash, leaving her belly exposed.  Scott didn't realize that the other dog had bitten Bootypants until they got back inside and saw blood dripping on the floor.  At the emergency vet, Booty's belly was shaved and the wound was cleaned, but the vet couldn't put in stitches because the wound had to drain.  As a result, Booty had to wear a cone for a couple of weeks so that she wouldn't lick the wound as it healed.

Booty hated her cone, but it was necessary to help her belly heal after her encounter with another dog the day after Christmas 2005.

Stay tuned for The Legend of Bootypants, Part II, coming soon.

Bootypants Namestnik, c. February 14, 1997 - December 22, 2013

Lindsay and I lost a family member and best friend today when Bootypants passed away.  More posts and photographs from throughout Booty's life to come.  In the meantime, if you have a memory or story about Bootypants, please comment here.  If you have a photo of Booty that you would like us to add to a blog post, send it our way.

Adirondack Foray, Part II

I previously posted Part I of my Adirondack Foray with Bruce Behan.  When I left off, we had completed the first half of our second (of three) days of botanizing.  After leaving Spring Pond Bog, we traveled to the 900-acre Clintonville Pine Barrens, where we only had a few hours of remaining daylight to explore this unique Pitch Pine-Heath Barren community. 

 

Clintonville Pine Barrens

At this Nature Conservancy preserve, an open canopy dominated by Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida) has developed on top of the sandy soil deposited approximately 12,000 years ago by melting glaciers. Common acidophile shrubby understory plants that we observed that help to give the Pitch Pine-Heath Barren community its name include Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina), Northern Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), Eastern Teaberry (Gaultheria procumbens), Black Huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), two varieties of Lowbush Blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium var. angustifolium and V. angustifolium var. nigrum), and Blue Ridge Blueberry (Vaccinium pallidum). Some of the other characteristic plants that we saw include Striped Maple (Acer pensylvanicum), Red Maple (Acer rubrum), Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis), Wild Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis), Flaxleaf Whitetop Aster (Aster linariifolius), Bigleaf Aster (Aster macrophyllus), Wavyleaf Aster (Aster undulatus), Pennsylvania Sedge (Carex pensylvanica), Pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellata), Bastard Toadflax (Comandra umbellata), Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta), Wavy Hairgrass (Deschampsia flexuosa), American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), Tree Groundpine (Lycopodium dendroideum), Whorled Yellow Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadrifolia), Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense var. canadense), Purple Chokeberry (Photinia floribunda), Red Pine (Pinus resinosa), Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), Sandcherry (Prunus pumila), Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana), Western Brackenfern (Pteridium aquilinum), American Wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia var. americana), White Oak (Quercus alba), False Melic (Schizachne purpurascens), Strict Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium montanum), Broad-leaved Meadowsweet (Spiraea latifolia), Starflower (Trientalis borealis ssp. borealis), and Velvetleaf Huckleberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides).  Birds of interest included Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens), Nashville Warbler (Oreothlypis ruficapilla), Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla), Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca), Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus), and Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis).


Ceanothus herbaceus

One of our target plants at Clintonville Pine Barrens was the rare Prairie Redroot (Ceanothus herbaceus), a plant listed as endangered in New York.  We weren't on the site more than 10 minutes before we found this low shrub in full flower.  Also known as Jersey Tea, this species is very similar to New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus), but differs in that the inflorescences are found at the end of the current year's growth (in New Jersey Tea, the inflorescences are borne on long stalks from the upper leaf axils).  Prairie Redroot is known primarily from the central United States, from Texas through Minnesota and Wisconsin, and into Canada, reaching back south into upstate New York.  It can be found in prairies, fields, and other open areas in dry and often rocky or sandy soil.

Cypripedium acaule

Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium acaule) is, dare I say, fairly common in the northeast.  In fact, we saw this attractive orchid at all but one of the sites we visited during our trip.  We saw this species in dry acidic soils in forests and shrubby barrens, but it also grows in saturated acidic conditions, such as in bogs and swamps.  In addition to the New England states, Pink Lady's Slipper, as it is also known, grows south along the Appalachian Mountains, and also in the Great Lakes states; it also reaches north into much of Canada.  While at Clintonville Pine Barrens, Bruce kept talking about the elusive white Moccasin Flower, and it wasn't until I got home and was looking at my photographs that I realized that I'd actually seen the white Moccasin Flower, Cypripedium acaule forma albiflora.  In addition to the white or very faintly pink-tinged floral lip, the white form of Moccasin Flower lacks pigmentation in the petals and sepals, leaving them yellowish green instead of brownish or purplish as in the typical and much more common form.

Cypripedium acaule f. albiflora

We began our final day of botanizing in the Adirondacks with a trip to The Nature Conservancy's Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve in Clinton County, New York.  This 520-acre preserve harbors several interesting plant communities, including Sandstone Pavement, Mixed Mesic Upland Forest, Swamp, and Jack Pine-Heath Barrens. 

Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve

Many different types of natural processes have combined to form our natural communities.  The Sandstone Pavement community is thought to have formed when a catastrophic flood from the abrupt drainage of Glacial Lake Iroquois stripped the topsoil and glacial deposits from the land, leaving bare sandstone.  In the 11,000 to 12,000 years since that time, a very thin layer of nutrient poor soil has formed in spots.  Early colonizers such as mosses and lichens are abundant, and shallow-rooted vascular plants that can tolerate low pH levels have taken advantage of the harsh site conditions.  The result is a globally rare plant community known from fewer than 20 sites on Earth.  Many of the plants, especially in lower areas, can tolerate at least seasonal inundation, giving rise to interesting wetlands in very shallow soils over sandstone bedrock.

Wet spot on the sandstone pavement

Where slightly deeper soils are present, Jack Pine-Heath Barrens have formed.  These fire-dependent communities are similar to the Pitch Pine-Heath Barrens observed at Clintonville Pine Barrens in that they are dominated by acidophiles that can survive in low nutrient soils.

Jack Pine-Heath Barrens community at Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve

Plant species that we observed in the Sandstone Pavement that are characteristic of this community include Red Maple, Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera), Wavy Hairgrass, Eastern Teaberry, Black Huckleberry, Narrowleaf Cowwheat (Melampyrum lineare), Purple Chokeberry, Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana), Red Pine, Eastern White Pine, Western Brackenfern, Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra), and Lowbush Blueberry.  Other plants of interest observed at the preserve include Striped Maple, Gray Birch (Betula populifolia), Northern Shorthusk (Brachyelytrum aristosum), Drooping Woodland Sedge (Carex arctata), Silvery Sedge (Carex canescens), Fibrousroot Sedge (Carex communis var. communis), Nodding Sedge (Carex gynandra), Bluebead (Clintonia borealis), Threeleaf Goldthread (Coptis trifolia), Bunchberry Dogwood (Cornus canadensis), Moccasin Flower, Northern Bush Honeysuckle, Intermediate Woodfern (Dryopteris intermedia), Marginal Woodfern (Dryopteris marginalis), Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens), Catberry (Ilex mucronata), Butternut (Juglans cinerea), Common Juniper (Juniperus communis), Canada Mayflower, Indian Cucumber (Medeola virginiana), Roughleaf Ricegrass (Oryzopsis asperifolia), Rock Polypody (Polypodium virginianum), Arctic Rattlebox (Rhinanthus minor ssp. groenlandicus), Broad-leaved Meadowsweet, New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis), Starflower, Painted Trillium (Trillium undulatum), Velvetleaf Huckleberry, and Withe-rod (Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides).

Kalmia angustifolia

Although we saw Sheep Laurel at many of the sites we visited, including Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Preserve, it is considered exploitably vulnerable in New York.  This is a testament to the beauty of this Ericaceous shrub, as it is often collected for garden and ornamental use.  That said, Sheep Laurel is listed on the Canadian weed list because of its ability to invade commercial shrub and tree plantations, and it is likely physically removed from similar situations in the United States.  In addition, because its foliage contains the glycoside andromedotoxin, which is deadly to animals (leading to another common name of Sheepkill), Sheep Laurel is likely often removed from pastures.  Found primarily in New England, the northern half of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and Canada, Sheep Laurel occurs in bogs, swamps, and other wet areas with low pH, often in sandy soil.

The final botanical destination on our foray left us just steps away from the US-Canadian border, as we visited The Gulf Unique Area in Clinton County.  At this interesting New York State Department of Conservation site we wandered through Swamp Forest, Mixed Mesic Upland Forest, Sedge Meadow, and Dry Upland Coniferous Forest.

Swamp at Gulf Unique Area

Because of the range of plant communities at The Gulf Unique Area, we encountered a wide variety of plants.  Some of the highlights and characteristic species we saw in the Swamp Forest include Paper Birch, Brownish Sedge (Carex brunnescens), Silvery Sedge, White Edge Sedge (Carex debilis var. rudgei), Threeseeded Sedge (Carex trisperma), Threeleaf Goldthread, Woodland Horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum), Eastern Teaberry, Threeleaf False Lily of the Valley (Maianthemum trifoliatum), Indian Cucumber, Buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea), Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and Withe-rod.  In the Mixed Mesic Upland Forest we enjoyed seeing Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea), Striped Maple, Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis), Drooping Woodland Sedge, Fibrousroot Sedge, Bluebead, Bunchberry Dogwood, Moccasin Flower, Northern Bush Honeysuckle, Intermediate Woodfern, Black Huckleberry, Shining Clubmoss (Huperzia lucidula), Twinflower (Linnaea borealis), American Fly Honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis), Stiff Clubmoss (Lycopodium annotinum), Tree Groundpine, Canada Mayflower, Eastern White Pine, Rock Polypody, Western Brackenfern, Skunk Currant (Ribes glandulosum), Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa var. racemosa), Twistedstalk (Streptopus lanceolatus var. lanceolatus), Heartleaf Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia), Starflower, Red Trillium (Trillium erectum), Painted Trillium, Lowbush Blueberry, Velvetleaf Huckleberry, Hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides), and Sweet Wild Violet (Viola blanda var. palustriformis).  The Sedge Meadow was characterized by Purplestem Aster (Aster puniceus), Bottlebrush Sedge (Carex hystericina), Lake Sedge (Carex lacustris), Upright Sedge (Carex stricta), Bulblet-bearing Water Hemlock (Cicuta bulbifera), American Mannagrass (Glyceria grandis), Earth Loosestrife (Lysimachia terrestris), Tufted Loosestrife (Lysimachia thyrsiflora), Great Water Dock (Rumex orbiculatus), Broad-leaved Meadowsweet, and Eastern Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens).  Balsam Fir, White Spruce (Picea glauca), and Eastern White Pine were characteristic of the Dry Upland Coniferous Forest.  As we were leaving The Gulf Unique Area, we stopped the car to see Black Ash (Fraxinus nigra), Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), and Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) in a Deciduous Mesic Upland Forest, and in the process we flushed an Ovenbird.  I continued to watch this ground-dwelling warbler until I found her characteristic oven-shaped nest.

Calla palustris

In the Swamp Forest at The Gulf Unique Area we came across a sphagnum slough full of Water Arum (Calla palustris).  If you're a regular reader of this blog, you've seen photographs of, and read commentary on, Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) and Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus).  Like these two species, Water Arum is in the family Araceae, and all three species share the common trait of having a conspicous sphathe surrounding a spadix covered with tiny, incospicuous flowers.  When it goes to fruit, the spadix will be covered with bright red, fleshy berries.  As with many things in nature, the bright red fruits of Water Arum indicate that they are poisonous; in fact, the entire plant is extremely poisonous, and if you eat it you will experience painful swelling (or so I'm told).  Water Arum grows in bogs, swamps, and marshes, as well as along rivers, ponds and lakes.  Its geographical range in the United States includes the New England states and the upper Great Lakes region; it is also found throughout Canada.

Oxalis montana

I was thrilled to locate a population of Mountain Woodsorrel (Oxalis montana) within the Mixed Mesic Upland Forest at The Gulf Unique Area.  Unlike the previous species, you can eat Mountain Woodsorrel without hesitation, and the sour leaves make a nice addition to a salad.  This low-growing climax forest species is known from the New England states and south along the Appalachian Mountains, as well as from the upper Great Lakes region and eastern Canada.  It grows in moist forests, often in mosses under conifers. 

Driving back to our cabin to spend our last night in the Adirondacks, Bruce and I made one last stop to see the "Grand Canyon of the East," Ausable Chasm, in Clinton and Essex counties.  This magnificent sandstone gorge has formed as a result of more than 500 million years of glacial movements followed by the Ausable River carving out a channel as it leads into Lake Champlain.  The result is a 2 mile long, 150 foot deep New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Unique Geologic Feature.

Ausable Chasm

Thanks Bruce, for a fantastic spring botanical outing and for showing me some spectacular natural areas!  As you can tell, I had an amazing time.

Bruce Behan