Spring has finally come to Northeast Missouri, and boy is it beautiful. Excuse me if I once again wax poetic about plants, but the Redbud, Wild Plum, and the myriad forest wildflowers in bloom have me swooning on a daily basis.
The kids and I have taken to frequent forest explorations as a break from the full sun of the garden. We bushwhack our way down steep hills with no real agenda – just discovery. This ecosystem is so brand new to me that every day brings so many delightful surprises – just today I saw my first bluebird, and I still get all twitterpated over the bright red of the cardinal! Our walk the other day led us into fantastic patches of bluebells and May apples…
…Past vernal pools, and our sandy bottomed creek…
(Everett has been on a skirt-wearing kick lately!)
…and back again through the oak-hickory forest, past trout lilies, just starting to bloom.
What lovely pictures. I love the one by the water!
I’d love you to link up with us at:
http://summersacres.blogspot.com/2013/05/spring-growth-homeacre-hop-and-giveaway.html
Done!
Of course that picture was taken about two minutes before a major tantrum meltdown! It was serene for a while though!
Love this, Teri!!! Great writing and pix! Ann XXXOOO
Thanks Ann!
How’s the poison ivy in Missouri as opposed to Massachusetts? A rambling walk in the woods up here would have us encounter a forest floor similar to your may apples picture, but instead of may apples it would be a solid carpet of poison ivy. Very frustrating in terms of teaching kids to enjoy the woods.
There is poison ivy, for certain. But on our land it seems to be clustered along the edges between clearings and woods. So you pass through the poison ivy zone and then get deep enough in the woods that it is relatively clear. Still, my radar is always on!
My husband is not very allergic to the oils (I am very allergic), so he’s been doing a lot of clearing from areas that we’re using frequently. Not very feasible for large spaces like you’re describing! That must be frustrating!