Journal for April 29, 2009

As we drove back to town last week, we turned a corner and found three Sandhill Cranes in the middle of the road. Fortunately it’s a quiet county road, and there was no other traffic.

I jumped out of the car with the camera and started walking toward them. (We wanted them to move so we could drive by, so I just kept walking closer and taking pictures until they flew.)

We’re hoping that they’re moving up the valley, and someday they’ll decide to nest in our wetland.

The flowers are really coming now, with the warm weather and the rain we’ve been having. The Bird’s Foot Violets are blooming on the bluff prairies.

Viola pedata

Common Violet in the woods

Viola sororia

Sand Cress

Arabis lyrata

Pussytoes

Antennaria plantaginifolia

And Rue Anemone

Thalictrum thalictroides

Unfortunately, Garlic Mustard is coming up too. We only have it in a few places, but every year I discover larger spots. This is a path on the edge of our land, that is covered with seedlings – which means there have been plants here long enough to set seed.

I pulled all the larger plants.

Alliaria petiolata

And sprayed as many of the seedlings as I could find with glyphosate. The seedlings are very small, so I’m sure I missed lots of them.

Alliaria petiolata seedlings

I found a new fungus – one that I’ve never seen before. It’s called an Earthstar. It sends up fruiting bodies in the summer and fall, so the ones I found have overwintered and they look a little battered. I’ll need to find some fresh ones to figure out the species.

The later butterflies – the ones that spend the winter as a chrysalis and need warm weather to hatch – are starting to appear. I saw a Cabbage Butterfly last week, and a Spring Azure yesterday.

Spring Azure