Thoughtful column…and a “thank you” to those who inspired it

Trail sign – Historic Champlain Canalway Trail

Folks,

I was alerted to this very thoughtful Times-Union article and I whole-heartedly concur with its author; please read it.

And, please join me in a virtual toast to all those selfless unnamed souls who were so insightful as to create the many local trails we each enjoy as part of our routine lives – THANK YOU!

Sign at trail crossing on Lower Newtown Road

Trail sign – Ushers Road State Forest

Trail signs – Mooney Carrese Forest trail, Veterans Memorial Park

Trail sign – Ballston Creek Preserve

Trail sign – Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve

Trail sign – Shenantaha Creek Park

Since I have listed elsewhere on this blog a number of area destinations where I’ve wandered about a time or two enjoying the many curious wonders of nature, I’d also like to specifically thank the stewarding entities of those destinations:

• Albany County
• Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• Saratoga County
• Saratoga PLAN
• Town of Ballston
• Town of Clifton Park
• Town of Halfmoon
• Town of Malta
• Town of Stillwater
• Town of Waterford
• Village of Colonie

Happy trails!

Lovely woodland orchid

During my recent visit to Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve, I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of Early Azalea blooms that had opened, but disappointed that I saw only a couple of Pink Lady’s Slipper plants.  Thinking that they should be blooming at this time, I headed to a different destination today (and had a couple of other back-up sites in mind as well) to hopefully see some in bloom.

I was not disappointed on this outing!

I strolled the one-mile loop trail at Ushers Road State Forest in the Towns of Clifton Park and Halfmoon and found several of these beautiful orchids in full bloom.  Magnificent!  See for yourself –

Pink Lady’s-slipper

View a very brief video of a showy pair of blooms.

Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule), also commonly called Moccasin Flower, is widely distributed across the eastern United States.  It produces two basal leaves and a solitary flower with purplish brown to green petals and sepals.  The distinctive flower, called a labellum, is an inflated pouch, often light pink with darker pink venation.  A slit with inwardly rolled edges marks the front of the labellum, which resembles a moccasin. It is found in forests and woodlands, often near pines or conifers.

Despite its widespread distribution, one rarely sees numerous blooms in any given spot and often not in any given year.  For me, that’s what makes finding any of these beautiful plants in bloom a real visual treat.  It can take three years from germination before a seedling first appears above ground.  Another three to five years may pass before it’s mature enough to flower.  Once the plant is established, it lives for an average of two to three decades, flowering every few years or so.

I also observed these blooming beauties along my route –

Yellow Clintonia

Painted Trillium

Indian Cucumber Root

Indian Cucumber Root

These sunny days will not disappoint if you can find time for even a short hike at any of these other destinations where I’ve also observed Pink Lady’s Slipper.  Enjoy!

• 100 Acre Wood in the Town of Malta
• Ann Lee Pond and Nature Preserve in the Town of Colonie
• Bauer Environmental Park in the Town of Colonie
• Dwaas Kill Nature Preserve in the Town of Clifton Park

Happy trails!

Virtual wildflower walk at Ann Lee Pond

Today’s sunshine beckoned me to go look for Painted Trillium and other spring season wildflowers at Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve in the Town of Colonie.  My hunch did not disappoint!

Join me for a virtual wildflower walk at Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve from this afternoon.

Happy trails!

World Bee Day

What’s all the buzz about?  Bees!  (Read why bees buzz.)

Bees are the most important and probably also the most widely recognized group of pollinators.  Pollinators help with the production of 75% of the world’s food crops, principally fruits and vegetables, through their routine acts of collecting their food – pollen and nectar – from the blooms on those food crop plants. Therefore, as more communities, counties, regions and states seek to implement strategies and other actions to achieve food security, their considerations must include the health and welfare of bees (and other pollinators).

Today is World Bee Day, a United Nations event slated each year on May 20.

View close-up portrait photographs and learn about some of the wild bees of New York, including their behavior.  View the index to find a particular species.

Bees produce honey, a sweet and nutritious food in itself.  Because honey is prepared from nectar that the bees harvest locally to their hives, it is best if you purchase local honey if you also suffer from allergies.  Consuming honey that is produced from the wildflowers nearest you may help you slowly build an immunity to the allergens that cause your suffering.  Read more.  Food for thought.  Check out a local farm or farmers market to see what local honey is available for purchase.

Take time today, even if only for a short walk, and salute those industrious and critically important insects as you enjoy the continuing unveiling of more spring season wildflowers coming into bloom.

Painted Trillium

Happy trails!

A spring season wildflowers (and birds) retrospective

By mid-March, as we all know, our lives rather abruptly and fundamentally changed – or, at least our daily routines certainly did. Never before, when pondering which destination I wanted to explore, have I had to consider the likelihood of encountering too many trail users or other wildflower enthusiasts such that I might get within six feet of said fellow outdoor nature observer. Now it was imperative that I do so.

So, I intentionally selected a destination that is rarely visited by others and I began to make brief videos of my nearly weekly visits to the unnamed 41-acre property along the Mohawk River that is owned by the Town of Clifton Park. Each visit resulted in a short video. I initially posted the first couple of videos, then I decided to forego any more postings (until this one) and compile all of them as a segmented (and continuing) “virtual hike.” What follows (if you choose to “join me” and click through the video segments listed below) is that virtual hike at this destination, beginning April 4^th and concluding May 10^th.

If you did not get out to observe this annual unveiling of some of our spring season wildflowers (including ephemeral spring wildflowers), then I hope you’ll take the opportunity – now – to join me on this virtual hike. As you’ll see, I encountered more than just blooming wildflowers. The best part (for you)? No ticks.

April 4: Sneak Peak at Early Spring Wildflowers (5:42)

April 11: Sneak Peak Ephemeral Spring Wildflowers (2:03)

April 25: Ephemeral Spring Wildflowers (7:49)

April 28: Ephemeral Spring Wildflowers-4/28 (13:32)

May 2: Ephemeral Spring Wildflowers-5/2/2020 (12:33)

May 10: Finale-Ephemeral Spring Wildflowers (7:55)

As you are pondering where to take your future hikes this year while we endure this pandemic, please consider the destinations listed in my prior post entitled “Some local trails best suited for social distancing.”

Happy trails!

Calling all fellow foragers: Join me for a series of online presentations

Please join me for each of my upcoming online presentations in a series of “Foraging for Wild Edibles” beginning this spring and continuing through the summer and into early autumn.

(FYI:  Each was originally scheduled as an onsite gathering to walk the premises of each destination.  While unlikely, if health and safety guidelines regarding the ongoing pandemic are lifted later this year, perhaps one or more of the last sessions will return as in-person gatherings.)

Please view the Events page for details about each outing.

This six-part series will feature five different locations while covering these topics:

1. May 13:  Plantains (3 species), Docks (2 species), Garlic Mustard, and Japanese Knotweed;
   

   Garlic Mustard

2. July 29:  Highbush Blueberry;
   

   ripe Highbush Blueberry fruit

3. August 26:  Hazelnuts (2 species);
   

   American Hazelnut

4. September 9:  Nannyberry;
   

   Ripe fruit of Nannyberry

5. October 3:  Hickory nuts (2 species);
   

   Shagbark Hickory

   and

6. October 4:  Autumn-olive berries.
   

   Autumn-olive

During each presentation, we’ll cover a few identification tips about each target species, its edibility, and some sample recipes for each.  Those joining me will receive the information covered plus additional recipes to help bring out your inner chef.  Feel free to share your favorite recipes with the rest of us!

I hope you’ll join me.

Happy trails!

Look for the Full Flower Moon

Actually, the full moon is slated for Thursday night.  However, since this may be the only clear sky evening this week, I thought I’d give you a chance at a “sneak peak”!

American Indian tribes used moon phases and cycles to keep track of the seasons by giving a distinctive name to each recurring full moon. The unique full moon names were used to identify the entire month during which each occurred.

The most well-known full moon names come from the Algonquin tribes who lived in the area of New England and westward to Lake Superior. The Algonquin tribes had perhaps the greatest effect on the early European settlers in America, and the settlers adopted the American Indian habit of naming the full moons.

May’s full moon is known as the Flower Moon because it rises when flowers are beginning to bloom and blossom. Ojibwe tribes of the Great Lakes also named it the Flower Moon, or “Waawaaskone Giizis.” The Ontario Native Women’s Association says this is when the plants display their spirit sides and it is a time of spiritual exploration. The moon is also a sign of health and rejuvenation, specifically because many blooming plants have beneficial medicinal qualities.

Here is a sampling of some wildflowers (and their medicinal uses) that are in bloom at this time locally:

Dwarf Raspberry – Eastern North American Indians used a decoction of roots to relieve stomach ailments.

Dwarf Raspberry

Pin Cherry – American Indians used bark as an infusion used to treat coughs and sore eyes and as a burn salve.

Pin Cherry

Purple Dead Nettle – Due to its diuretic, astringent and styptic properties, infusion used to help heal minor cuts and bruises.

Purple Dead Nettle

Smooth Yellow Violet – American Indians used a decoction of plant for indigestion.

Smooth Yellow Violet

Happy trails!

Virtual stoll through Mooney-Carrese Forest

A beautiful sunny warm day during National Wildflower Week with the backdrop of a worldwide pandemic, for me, added up to one thing:  visit a beautiful local open space area and enjoy a peaceful stroll through the woods.

So, I did.

Now, I’m inviting you to join me for a brief virtual stroll together to view some of the spring wildflowers now in bloom (along with a few other things along the way) at the Mooney-Carrese Forest portion of Veterans Memorial Park in the Town of Clifton Park.

Common Shadbush

A digression for you to ponder.

Throughout my lifetime, I have always found that whenever I’m out in nature I find not only great beauty and wonders (and all things curious, of course), but also a true sense of peace.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread,

places to play in and pray in,

where Nature may heal and cheer

and give strength to body and soul alike.

– John Muir

If you haven’t heard or read about shinrin-yoku (translated from Japanese as “forest bathing”), then I encourage you to explore it particularly during this extraordinary time.  Tranquil solitude is a great antidote to the pandemic; it is even consistent with social isolation protocol!

Happy trails!

Celebrate National Wildflower Week

Lady Bird Johnson said wildflowers “give us a sense of where we are in this great land of ours.” Right she was! From bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) blanketing Hill Country roadsides and purple coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea) dotting Wisconsin prairies to California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) making good on their state’s nickname, wildflowers are admired nationwide — and they’re celebrated officially every first week of May. We hope you’ll enjoy participating in National Wildflower Week wherever you live and appreciate wildflowers this and every week of the year.  — Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center webpage

Take a local hike: Even a short hike can open your eyes to the beauty of wildflowers. Visit any of the local destinations listed on my Area Nature Preserves, Parks and Trails webpage and take a slow walk through. Take along a corresponding field guide from my Wildflower Field Guides webpage or a wildflower mobile app to identify the plants you see.  Upload your photos to either the Flora of New York project or the New York Wildflower Monitoring Project on iNaturalist to confirm your identification.

To help kick-off National Wildflower Week locally, please join me later today (@ 6:30pm) for an online presentation about Ephemeral Spring Wildflowers found at Ballston Creek Preserve in the Town of Ballston.  Other spring season wildflowers, from this and other area nature preserves, parks and trails, will also be shown.  For details on how to logon, please view the Events page.  Many other upcoming online events are also listed there.

Sampler of local native wildflowers in bloom at this time:

American Fly Honeysuckle – Best viewed at Anchor Diamond Park at Hawkwood

Cut-leaved Toothwort – Best viewed at Shenantaha Creek Park

Dwarf Ginseng – Best viewed at Woodcock Preserve

Goldthread – Best viewed at Ushers Road State Forest

Hobblebush – Best viewed at Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve

Large-flowered Bellwort – Best viewed at Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve

Long-spurred Violet – Best viewed at Woodcock Preserve

Marsh Blue Violet – Best viewed at Woodcock Preserve

Small-flowered Crowfoot – Best viewed at Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve

Toothwort – – Best viewed at Shenantaha Creek Park

Trout Lily – Best viewed at Woodcock Preserve

American Black Currant – Best viewed at Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve

Downy Yellow Violet – Best viewed along Mooney Caresse Forest trail at Veterans Memorial Park

Dwarf Raspberry – Best viewed at Ushers Road State Forest

Early Meadow Rue – Best viewed at Shenantaha Creek Park

Foamflower – Best viewed at Ushers Road State Forest

Fringed Polygala – Best viewed at North Woods Nature Preserve

Hawthorn – Best viewed along Community Connector Trail

Jack-in-the-pulpit – Best viewed at Anchor Diamond Park at Hawkwood

Miterwort – Best viewed at Peter Desrochers Memorial Country Knolls Trails

Ovate-leaved Violet – Best viewed at 100 Acre Wood

Pin Cherry – Best viewed at Ann Lee Pond Nature and Historic Preserve

Red Baneberry – Best viewed at Zim Smith Trail

Red-berried Elder – Best viewed at Garnsey Park

Smooth Yellow Violet – Best viewed along Mooney Caresse Forest trail at Veterans Memorial Park

Striped Maple – Best viewed at Peter Desrochers Memorial Country Knolls Trails

Wild Plum – Best viewed at Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve

Here is a list of activities to consider to help you celebrate this national event.  If not those, then how about a short wildflower quiz?  Select “advanced – by state” and then “New York” – see how many you can correctly identify!  View the quiz.

Happy trails!