Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches) on 4-12-26, #1086-1.

Hello folks! I hope this post finds you well. I know this post is somewhat out-of-date, but I tried… I started it on time, but it has taken a while to finish.

Sunday evening, May 12, I had a chance to go to Kevin’s secluded woods again to have a look around. It was a bit early perhaps, but a few wildflowers were already in flower. Ummm… I didn’t find any morels… Honestly, I only found 4 plus one stem on the farm. The weird thing is they were yellow which I usually find at the tail end of the season. Reports of people finding up to 2,000 somewhere around here and several found over 100! Hmmm… Some say they didn’t find many, or none at all, in the usual places, but did where they hadn’t found them before.

The above and below photo are of a nice Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches).  There were A LOT of them along the creek and throughout the hillside above the creek but only a few has started blooming. Like I said, it was a bit early.

Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman’s Breeches) on 4-12-26, #1086-1.

One thing is for sure, even without the flowers, they are easily recognized by their leaves…

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Phlox divaricata subsp. lampamii (Wild Blue Phlox) on 4-12-26, #1086-3.

There were also a lot of Phlox divaricata (Wild Blue Phlox) in bloom. Found this particularly nice clump along the fence above the creek. You have to crawl through the fence to get to the hillside.

Just noticed the blue dots in the photo… I took these photos with a cell phone then edited them on the computer to make them smaller. Yeah, I could probably do it differently, but… Not going to say I am too old to learn new tricks. After all, I did break down and get a cell phone. I didn’t take my camera to the woods because I really wasn’t planning on taking photos on this visit, but I couldn’t help myself…

Phlox divaricata subsp. lampamii (Wild Blue Phlox) on 4-12-26, #1086-5.

One of the other common names for this species is Woodland Phlox because they prefer a shadier habitat. The color also makes them easy to spot in shady areas.

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Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 4-12-26, #1086-7.

One of my favorite plants in Kevin’s woods is the Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) and I managed to find it where it always is. I was excited to see it has two stems instead of just one this year!

Triosteum perfoliatum (Perfoliate Tinker’s Weed) on 4-12-26, #1086-8.

I haven’t been all over the hillside, but I have only found one of these plants where I have been. I stumbled upon it first in the spring of 2020 and I can’t always find it. You would understand if you were with me looking for it. It is like finding a needle in a haystack for sure!

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Viola eriocarpa (Smooth Yellow Violet) on 4-12-26, #1086-9.

There was no shortage of Viola eriocarpa (Smooth Yellow Violet) in Kevin’s woods. It was growing just about everywhere! Previously, V. eriocarpa was a synonym of V. pubescens, but the species was resurrected… Now what I have always identified as Viola pubescens is apparently (or supposedly) Viola eriocarpa…

I’ll try to get back out to the woods at some point if I have time.

I was invited once again to the private prairie east of town on April 19. I now have permission to go there anytime. Hopefully, the next post will be about the trip.

Until next time, be safe, stay positive, stay well, always be thankful and… GET DIRTY!