Mainly Meadow

On Tuesday, I went back to the Big Woods. My intent was to walk the entire trail around the meadow, but it was hot that day, and the meadow doesn't have a bit of shade, so I thought I would put that off for a better day, or a day when I had more energy.

I did walk a little bit on the West side of the meadow, farthest from the Big Woods.



I then went into the woods a bit. I found the cutest little orange mushrooms. I tried to identify them, but, apparently, there are many, many orange mushrooms in the US, and I finally got frustrated and gave up.



The woods, themselves, again, amazed me with their beauty. With the sun out, they took on an almost enchanted character.



I went back to the swamp, to see if the mallard duck was there, but he wasn't. Everything was very still. Not quiet, though, as there were bullfrogs sounding off all over. Quite the orchestra!



When I came back out of the woods, I walked a bit of the trail on the East side of the meadow, near the woods. There, at least, there was some shade that I could duck into, every once in a while.

The Everlasting Pea is just starting to bloom.



This Butterfly Weed is in full bloom. I saw a lot of these plants, but they weren't ready to bloom yet. I wonder why this one plant is so far ahead? It must be in a perfect location.



And, I took a picture of these Oak leaves, just because they were so pretty. They shouldn't be turning this early in the year. It was only this small group of leaves that was. I wonder what is causing them to turn?



I saw a lot of little white butterflies flitting around. I have always called the Cabbage Butterflies, and, apparently, a lot of people do, but the correct name is "Small White." When I did some research, just to make sure I was right, I was amazed to find out that, yes, folks, these common little butterflies are invasive, not native to the US. You know, I wonder if Europe has as many of we would call natives that they consider invasive?



There was a Baltimore Oriole pair that had a nest in one of the few trees in the meadow. They were flying in and out of the Woods, obviously catching things there and bringing them back to their kids. This is the only picture I could get.



And, I saw this bird. It was quite far away, hopping around like mad on the trail, trying to catch some bugs. I thought when I was taking the pictures that it was a robin, but, when I got home and downloaded them, I saw it wasn't. It's not a good enough picture, unfortunately, for me to be able to identify it.



Almost across the road from the Big Woods, is another, much smaller trail system. I decided to go over there and take a quick look. Of course, I never seem to be able to just take a quick look, so I actually spent quite a bit of time there.

This system has a large creek running through it.




At one point along the creek I saw, much to my surprise, a huge bed of pachysandra, with some daffodil leaves scattered among them. It was in a very pretty location and I wonder if there was a house there at one time, or if the people who owned the land had just considered it a pretty spot, and, maybe, gone there for picnics. They might, then, have planted them as enhancements to the scene.



Most of the trees here were deciduous, but there were many more pine trees than at Whiting Road or The Big Woods. They impart an entirely different feel.



I walked a ways along the trail, but decided that I had done enough. So, I turned around and came back. On the way back I noticed that, under a couple of trees were very many leaves of the Canada Mayflower. They were, of course, past blooming, but I haven't seen this many in my other walks. I'll have to make sure to come back here next Spring, to see them in bloom.



Today, it's back to Whiting Road, to see what is new on the Orange Trail. I always go there thinking that I won't find too much new, but I always do.