April in the Woods

Spring here has been quite unusual. We had temperature well above the normal range early in the spring and are now having about normal temperatures with lows sometimes dropping down into the mid thirties. Because of the early warm weather, the mushrooms were out much sooner than normal. I found just a very few this year. This being one of the few....

I also came across a quite interesting plant. I remember my dad calling this Wild Licorice. If you pull it up or break a stem, it gives off a very strong black licorice smell. Doing a bit of research....and getting some great help from Quilsnkiko on Paleoplanet (a great site by the way); I learned that it is often called Wild Licroice, but a more proper name is Sweet Cicely. Following is information I copied and pasted from the internet...and my apologies, this was saved a couple of weeks ago and I do not remember the site. As always do your own research

Properties   Sweet Cicely was used extensively by Native American Indian tribes to treat digestive disorders and as an antiseptic wash for a range of problems. Sweet Cicely is medicinal and edible, the root being the strongest for use in alternative medicine it is antiseptic, aromatic, febrifuge, oxytocic, pectoral, stomachic, carminative, tonic, ophthalmic, and expectorant. Medicinal tea made from the root is a very good digestive aid and is a gentle stimulant for debilitated stomachs. A weak herb tea is used to bath sore eyes. A strong infusion has been used to induce labor in a pregnant woman and to treat fevers, indigestion, flatulence, stomach aches. The crushed root is an effective antiseptic poultice for the treatment of boils and wounds. A medicinal cough syrup can be made of the fresh juice and honey, it is very effective and quite tasty, children take it readily. The leaves and flowers are edible in salad and add a great flavor, or boiled and eaten as a pot herb. The root is eaten raw or dried and ground for use as spices.

Sweet Cicely....

This morning I made it out to a local area. The weather was overcast and had just stopped raining. It again drizzled a bit while I was out. I came across these geese at the upper end of a lake and had some fun getting as close as I could and snapping a few pictures.

As I was watching the geese, I noticed a large bird approaching from overhead. My hope was that it was one of the Bald Eagles that are becoming more common here again. It was actually a Great Blue Heron. I snapped a quick picture as it went overhead. Not the sharp focus I would like, but I had the camera set on manual focus for the geese.....but I got a nice view of it soaring over me.

Just a look out across the Lilly Pads in the shallow water.

The woods and fields have certainly "popped" with color! I do enjoy all the seasons, but this fresh Spring color is quite welcome.

A couple of young doves we have been having fun watching in our yard.

.........and so concludes this post.

Please get out, enjoy nature, and learn as much as possible....Thanks so much for stopping by!

March Wanderings

I got out a couple of times over the past weekend. It was a quite pleasant time to venture out. Saturday I was comfortable with a light coat. Sunday I left the coat in the vehicle and was just fine with a flannel shirt.

Both days, as is normal for me, I ended up hiking along or near the river. The water at present is very clear and made me begin thinking of fishing and kayaking.

I walked for about a mile through grassland and wooded areas before coming to the river on Saturday.

The area upstream and across the river is known as Windfall Prairie. It is one of the few remaining natural patches of prairie land, that has continued on without the need of restoration. It is on a steep southwest facing bank of the river. I spent some time just relaxing on the river bank here in the sun; before continueing on.

Just an unusual tree root formation that caught my attention.

Sunday found me at a different location. I had fun checking out this old abandoned railroad trestle. Not sure of it's age, but the steel connections are all riveted; a method of fastening that has not been commonly used for quite some time. The stone foundations also show considerable wear.

 Emma and I relaxed here for a bit, enjoying the view; and had a couple of snacks. I also had a cup of hot tea before moving on.

Horsetail reeds. These have a coarse suface like sandpaper and can be used as an abrasive to smooth wood or to scour and clean. I believe there may be medicinal uses also that I have read about, but those uses will not come to me at present.

I came across these hardy new plants along the river bank. I do not know what they are, but they add a bit of color to the drab March landscape.

Of couse plenty of beaver activity along here.
I think this is Sassafrass.

I found this small tree that the beavers apparently had cut recently. Sap is rising from it, which has attracted flies and other insects. The flies and insects would not be here yet in a normal winter, but this winter has been unusually warm.

And as is very common, you come across the remains of the local wildlife residents.

This is the first time I have ever found a dead mole on my hikes that I can recall

An old turtle shell.

Very common find..........deer bones.

Coming down into a ravine, I came upon a Turkey Vulture feeding on this Opossum carcass. Quite graphic I realize, but a very natural part of nature.

And in conclusion a nice view above the river...another spot where I relaxed for a bit.

Catch you next time..............

Wild Plants for Tea Update

Back in November of 2010, I had a post labeled Wild Plants for Tea. This is just a quick and brief follow-up to that. At that time I gathered numerous plants...all detailed in that post.

I made a comment that the plants should have been gathered earlier in the year. If my schedule had permitted, those plants would have been gathered earlier........and if so, I would not have the appreciation for Blackberry leaf tea that I now have.

I found that the Blackberry leaves developed a very pleasant smell as they were stored in a sealed tin container. The flavor of the tea, in my opinion, was better than herbal teas that I have purchased...and was free!

Late last summer, as I saw my supply dwindling away, I decided to go ahead and replenish my supply of Blackberry leaves. I picked a nice supply, dried them, and recently began using them when the older supply was gone. To my surprise, the flavor was not nearly as good; more bitter and not as pleasant.

The first supply that I picked were already beginning to drop from the vines and were turning red or brown. I now believe.....after learning quite by accident....that the best time to pick Blackberry leaves for tea is in the fall after several frosts when the leaves are ready to drop.

It is amazing what nature has to offer us for free isn't it?

If possible get out, explore, and learn.............until next time...............

February in the Woods

Well we have had an unusual winter so far; temperatures above normal (up to 60 degrees in January) and of course very little snow. The last few days we have had about normal temps, but predicted to go up again soon. While those temps make it easy on you when going out, I am concerned about the effects later this year. We need the good, long freezing temps in my opinion so that nature can go through the normal yearly cycle and that some insects and microbes can be contained at normal levels.

I have been out a few times the last few weeks. On one outing, I found some new plants beginning to emerge. Those may have been frozen out by now with recent temps.

One weekend, I ventured out in an early morning fog with temps probably around freezing. The fog gives a unique look to things.

I stopped for a while and watched the geese. A couple ventured close enough for good pictures.

I ventured on out into the woods and stopped above a large valley. I have been here numerous times at all seasons. It is one of my favorite spots just to sit, relax, and enjoy the view. With snow cover, it is beautiful. Early spring with new green growth is also impressive. Even now, with bare trees and brown leaves, it is a nice view with the stream below. This time with the fog gave it a look new for me...............and also for Emma.

As you can see there is a bit of green in the woods. Most of what you see is there even when we have our normal winter temps. The wild ferns seem to be pretty hardy and I have seen them green when covered with snow. Of course the moss is pretty tough also.

We ventured on down the hill to the stream. Emma always enjoys wading along in the water.

From the top of the hill, I had spotted several bright red objects across the stream. When I got over there, I found these growing in several places. Not sure what they are, probably some kind of mushroom of fungus that was fooled into thinking it was spring because of the warm weather we have had.

Emma and I continued our hike about another mile and came across this old cemetery in the woods.

I wonder about young Amanda; married to Mr. Giles McGee. She died at just 18 years old in 1848. What kind of life did she have? Did she have any children at that young age? What caused her death?

From here we hiked on back to the car..............and then over this past weekend we ventured out again with more normal temps....in the teens when I started out, but warmed up to the high twenties while we were out and about.

We headed to a different area, probably just about 3 miles from the last outing, but on the opposite side of the Middlefork River. We started following a small stream that was frozen over enought for Emma, but I did not feel it was probably strong enough to support me. This area was just behind an old beaver dam (visible in the top picture).

Emma could smell something interesting inside this hollow tree.

The only visible green was moss on old dead tree trunks.

We continued on until we came to the Middlefork River. I sat in the sun, just listening to the water and enjoying the view and feeling the cold wind. I took out a small thermos of hot blackberry leaf tea (made from leaves I gathered); poured some out and drank it along with some snacks. I called Emma over and shared the snacks with her.

Below me the river was flowing, just a bit above normal levels, with ice floating along.

I climbed up a steep embankment along the edge of the river to where I could enjoy one of the nicer views in our area.

..............and following are some pictures that were taken surprisingly just down the street from our house.

How many Turkey Vultures do you see? I count 13 in this picture. A large group of Turkey Vultures have moved into our neighborhood and stay in this tree. Double click this (and any of the pictures) for a larger view.

This immature Coopers Hawk stopped long enough on a tree across the street for me to get a nice picture. I had to research on the internet to identify it for sure. I thought it was a Coopers Hawk, but the brighter colors made me unsure. What I learned was that the immature hawks are more reddish in color and have the stripes on their chests. Quite an attractive bird in my opinion.

And with that.........I believe I will close this post. As always, thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoy it, and perhaps learn something.

Until next time..........see ya....