Wildflower Walk in the Rain September 29

[Pauline Singleton]

The weatherman predicted an 80% chance of rain.  So we canceled our wildflower walk, right?  Wrong!  It was a small group this time, and that is really understandable.  It rained on me the whole way as I drove to the preserve.  Light rain continued off and on all day.

We simply carried umbrellas and pressed on.  What was blooming?  Goldenrod of several species, swamp sunflowers (they will probably put on a more dramatic show in a few more days), cowbane (Oxypolis sp.), Lobilia, Liatris elegans, two species of purple asters, and quite a few other things.  There was a newly-emerged Indian pipe growing along the trail that goes downhill from the gallery toward the lake.

There were a couple of interesting mushrooms, and the rains may make for even better mushroom display in the days to come.

We saw a young copperhead about a foot long.  We let him slither away unharmed; it is our policy to tolerate snakes along with the other creatures that make the preserve home.

After lunch I returned to the preserve and walked around for a few minutes more.  On my way home, I paused for a moment as I drove across the dam.  I was treated to a sighting of the wood duck family.  It looked like it was probably the adult male, adult female and the young of this year.  The young ducks are as large as their parents now, but their plumage is not yet as spectacular.

The fact that the day was a little soggy didn't keep it from being enjoyable.

Pauline