Long Hike Short Hike

Forest shade and open sunshine make a big difference in what you will see on a hike and the speed with which you will walk it. In the deep shade there is less to see plant wise. Green dominates. Texture differentiates. A six mile hike took no time at all it seemed.

















Out in the full sun colors abound. Leaf textures start to blend into monotony. Flowers shapes and colors help tell you who is who.

















As big as a dinner plate, this round white form stood out on the forest floor.















White Wood Aster, Eurybia divaricata managed to find a spot to bloom along the edge of a stream.
















Solid mats of ferns cover huge swaths of sloped ground.
















How these streams were not full after two weeks of steady rain is a mystery to me. I just came from a desert though, so my idea of steady rain may be some what off.
















A short 1.8 mile hike took quite some time. There was a lot to see and examine.

Green-Headed Coneflower, Rudbeckia laciniata growing in huge patches five feet tall were just beginning to bloom.

















Heal-All, Prunella vulgaris carpeted the ground in spots.





















There tends to be more sun on the top of things. Some where down there is where we walked six miles.
















Eupatorium fistulosum or E. maculatum, who knows the Joe Pye Weed. The E. fistulosum is said to have hollow stems. It may have lower down than I have looked so far. Mid way it has a white inner pith.

In the background is the renamed Turkscap Lily, Lilium superbum not Lilium lancifolium that I have been calling it. There is some incredibly subtle difference to distinguish the two that I will pay attention to at some point.















Spotted Knapweed a relative of Bachelors Button, Centaurea biebersteinii or maybe it has been renamed to C. stoebe. After searching for several hours on the identity of this pretty wild flower it was a little disappointing to find out it has been declared a noxious weed. The place I first found it does not bode well for control. Then I was told it grows all along the interstate. A little research once I had ID'd it and it has spread across the whole country. Is there a point at which a plant is declared indigenous?














Looking in the other direction.
















Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum something. I have not been able to find a species name for this yet. I may not even have the genus right.
















At the end of the short hike there was something to climb.

















Featherbells, Stenanthium gramineum is in the Liliaceae family. It has very grass like non-descript foliage. The flower spike is very dramatic. This picture does not do it justice.





















Getting a little closer to the sun.
















Fire Pink, Silene virginica is so very red.















And those were just a few of the wild flowers we all saw on the short hike.

Now back to the trenches for the footings for my cabin. Today they were cleaned of roots, the bottoms eyeball leveled and smoothed and measurements were taken for all the batter boards.