Spring at Last. Really.

White trillium bud

After breaking my heart numerous times, spring has finally arrived here in central Ohio. Despite 20 mph winds this morning I had a terrific walk at Highbanks Metro Park. Among the highlights: I saw what may have been a red-headed woodpecker and the first bluebird I've ever seen. Yes, I've lived in Ohio for (zzz-zz-zz sorry, static on my Web connection) years and just saw my first bluebird. Also saw some very handsome brown-headed cowbirds. Cowbirds are not particularly pleasant birds; they lay their eggs in other birds' nests and let the unwitting foster parents raise their young. But the males are really striking in the sun, a glossy iridescent black with a rich brown head.

Dutchman's breeches

Enough birds. Spring is for wildflowers, and lots of  'em. The best part of spring for me is seeing the floor of the woods bloom. The first flowers I spotted this morning are some of my favorites--dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria). These jaunty little pantaloons are a wild relative of the bleeding heart in your garden. They always make me smile...they really look like a row of puffy little pants on a clothesline.

Mayapple sprout

The mayapples (Podophyllum pelatum) are also beginning to open, though not blooming yet. In another week or so they'll spread their umbrellas across the understory, but this week I caught a very new sprout, still a tightly closed bumbershoot.

Yellow trout lily

Trout lilies are also in bloom. Highbanks has both yellow (Erythronium americanum) and white (Erythronium albidum) varieties. The flowers are fairly large, but surprisingly hard to see since they curve downward. They're bright yellow or white underneath but mostly reddish-brown on top. The name "trout lily" supposedly refers to the mottled leaves, which resemble the mottled markings of trout. The plant is also called "adder's tongue."


White trillium


The large white trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) is Ohio's state wildflower. It is also known as wake robin and snow trillium, although there is another, smaller species, Trillium nirvale, which is also called snow trillium.

Toadshade

The dark red trillium with the mottled leaves is toadshade (Trillium sessile), also called little sweet Betsy and whippoorwill flower. This is one of two very dark red trilliums with mottled leaves. The other, Trillium cuneatum, is much larger, a foot or more tall, and is not found in this area of Ohio.

Bloodroot

One of my favorite wildflowers, bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is more remarkable for its leaves than its small white flowers. With anywhere from three to nine lobes, the oddly-shaped leaves stand out along the paths. When I look at the one shown here, I think of...the bat signal. Too many comic books as a child! Bloodroot is a medicinal herb that has been used, among other things, as an antiseptic. I make no recommendations, but for those interested in herbal remedies, please don't gather wild bloodroot. It can be cultivated to help preserve the wild stock.

I'm hoping to get to walk often for the next few weeks to catch the wildflowers as they come into bloom. Some other favorites, Jacks-in-the-pulpit, should be out shortly. Stay tuned.

Spring in Ohio: Not Yet, But Close

Northern Cardinal

As usual, spring is toying with us here in central Ohio. Last weekend temps were in the mid-60s. This weekend, they're...well, they're not. Walking at Inniswood Metro Garden this morning, early spring's split personality was everywhere. The birds were singing...cardinals, blue jays, and crows everywhere (and yes, crows and jays are technically songbirds, though not very melodic). I heard several red-bellied woodpeckers drumming. I've also seen dozens of turkey and black vultures in the past couple of weeks, and lots of hawks. Watch the fence posts along the interstates and you'll spot red-tailed hawks watching the fields.



The ghosts of beech leaves past



But the trees are still bare, though some are beginning to bloom. And the beeches are still holding onto last year's leaves. At one curve in the walking path, the hiker turns into an area with tiers of ghostly beech leaves on all sides, in every shade of pale tan, gold, and near-white. Those that fall to the ground are nearly transparent, like tissue paper. Most will hang on until the new leaves sprout in a couple of weeks.

Yellow iris sprouts with ice

The heavy rains that fell here in the past two weeks have filled the frog pond and the boggy area next to it. The pond is the perfect illustration of this year's not-quite-spring: fresh green sprouts of the yellow irises around the pond, standing in water with a skin of ice on top. It made my feet cold to look at them.

But spring is very close. The mosses have been green for weeks, and this week the floor of the woods is covered in green sprouts. The ferns are up, and I finally saw the first leaves of a skunk cabbage this week, though the bloom isn't up yet.

Hellebores in bloom

The cultivated gardens at Inniswood are also coming to life. The grape hyancinths and daffodils along the paths are beginning to open, and the hellebores (or lenten roses, Helleborus orientalis) are thick with blooms, from white to pink to mauve-y purple.

It's supposed to warm up again by next weekend. With any luck we'll have actual spring in another week or two.

Cold? What is this..."cold?"

Highbanks trail, January 2010

Greetings after a long absence from the blog due to a) nagging lower back problems and b) general craziness in my life. This morning I took a long winter walk at Highbanks MetroPark. There was substantial snowfall this week here in central Ohio, so the trails varied between hard-packed snow and fluff, and it was definitely cold: when I left this morning, it was -2 degrees F, and by the time I had breakfast and started walking, I'd guess the temps were hovering between 0 and +5.

That said, this is my favorite time of year to walk. It's quiet, there are many fewer joggers, or anyone else for that matter, on the trails, and I personally enjoy the barrenness of the woods because it's much easier to spot birds and other wildlife than it is during the summer. Plus, there are tons of footprints of animals you might never actually see...but you know they're there. Unfortunately I took off without my camera this morning, but I have some Highbanks photos from about this time last year that I can pop in here.



Winter woods at Highbanks

For those who'd like to head out into the snow, my shot at motherly advice:: dress for the cold. For this weather, I do a pair of cotton tights under jeans, a medium-weight sock and waterproof hiking boots with insulating insoles. Up top, a substantial cotton turtleneck, winter-weight parka with down liner in place, a pair of medium-weight knit gloves covered by down mittens (at least at first), and a cheerful red fleece balaclava that makes me look like a cross between Santa Claus and a bank-robbery suspect. By the end of the hike, I've usually dispensed with the mittens and sometimes opened the outer shell of the coat, but that's the point of layers...when you warm up, you can remove some. Do not head out in a couple of sweatshirts, lightweight gloves, and running shoes. If you get turned around on the trails you may be out longer than expected, and frostbite and hypothermia are real dangers at these temps, especially if there's wind.

Highbanks ravine

Enough advice. This morning I saw a surprising number of critters out, especially birds. A pair of robins (who hang around all year here, contrary to popular belief...these are probably Canadian robins who think this is the south, eh?); a tufted titmouse, common at birdfeeders as well as in the winter woods; several cardinals and blue jays; and a red-bellied woodpecker. The woodpeckers are much easier to spot in the winter with the leaf canopy down; this one was drumming off to the side of the trail, and when I turned to see where he was, he came zipping down the trail right over my head, headed to a better tree. I did not see any today, but I often see pileated woodpeckers at Highbanks. These are the guys Woody Woodpecker was modeled after...black backs, white necks, big red crests. Beautiful birds. I also saw (at the nature center's birdfeeders) an Eastern towhee, a first for me...a very handsome guy with a black back, rusty orange sides, and a pristine white belly.

Olentangy River from Highbanks overlook, January 2010

As for furry critters, the chipmunks and squirrels were very active considering the cold. Had a laugh at a squirrel who made a high-speed run down a branch that was sticking up at an angle from the ground...the branch was covered in snow, and the squirrel looked like a furry little snowmobile zipping down the branch: a bushy tail and a cloud of snow. There were lots of tracks crisscrossing the trails, but unfortunately the snow is fairly dry and fluffy and doesn't hold tracks very well. I recognized deer, rabbit, and what were likely coyote prints, but the rest were unreadable.

A most worthwhile trek through the woods in the snow. There's nothing like the silence of the woods in winter as a stress buster. Layer up and go. I guarantee you'll feel lighter and less harried when you make it back to civilization.

Crows

Last night I had a half hour to kill before going to my monthly meditation group, so I wandered around Wyman Woods, a small park in Grandview Heights. As I was driving in, I noticed a group of crows scavenging under the trees next to the road. I love crows, so of course I had to try to get some photos of this bunch.

Crows are extremely intelligent birds, totally unimpressed by humans with cameras. This wary group, seven in all, lit out for the trees before I got within good camera range. The best I could do was catch a couple of them as they sat high above my head, probably snickering to themselves.

Crows are usually found in pairs or groups, and sometimes a group will help raise young communally. I suspect there was a nest nearby, as there was one particular tree that most of this bunch headed for when I tried to get close, and I could hear very soft little crow sounds coming from that direction. They were also fond of lining up on the roof of a building behind the treeline and watching me trying to take their pictures.

For those who are interested in crows and their kin, Candace Savage has written two really fascinating books. The first encompasses the entire Corvus family, and is titled Bird Brains: The Intelligence of Crows, Ravens, Magpies, and Jays. The other, which is one of my favorite books ever, centers only on crows and ravens. Check it out: Crows: Encounters with the Wise Guys of the Avian World.

Cliff Swallows

When I walk in Grandview Heights at lunchtime, I've often noticed cliff swallows swooping through the air along the river bank and gliding inches from the water...but I never thought to look for their nests until I saw an article in the Columbus Dispatch last week about the swallows nesting underneath the Fishinger Road bridge in northwest Columbus (http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/science/stories/2010/06/20/adapting-to-life-in-ohio.html; the article was still live when this posting was written). This week I took the time to look up under the highway overpasses as I walked, and sure enough, spotted very small colonies of nests under two of them.

Cliff swallows (Hirundo pyrrhonota) are the famous swallows that have returned to the San Juan Capistrano mission in California for decades. These small, graceful birds once built their mud nests, which resemble small clay jars, on rocky cliffs. The colonies can be quite large, with hundreds of birds raising their broods simultaneously. As their habitats change they are adapting to building on man-made structures such as building ledges and yes, highway bridges. Even the Capistrano swallows now apparently prefer a nearby country club's building to their traditional nesting sites!

Cliff swallows nest in colonies and feed in flocks, catching insects on the wing. They are dark gray-brown above with some white on the forehead and back, with white belly, buff rump, and a reddish-brown throat. In flight they resemble the barn swallow, also found in central Ohio, but the cliff swallow's tail is square at the tip rather than forked. These birds are aerial acrobats, swooping and diving after insects and even dipping down to drink on the wing. This small colony is very entertaining on my lunch hour walk as they catch their dinners--mosquitoes, I hope!--and wheel through the air like tiny barnstormers.