A short walk

We live down a long road. In fact we are 1 mile back from the main road and our mailbox is 1/2 mile from our home. Walking to get the mail, RyLee picked this flower for me. This is from my nature journal.



This is called a Wake Robin. its real name is Trillium Ovatum. It is considered a wildfolower. Tri is Latin for 3 and this flower has 3 leaves, 3 petals, 3 sepals and 3 stigmas. It has 2 other names it is known for, Western Trillium and Pacific Trillium.

Its a simple yet pretty flower. It was white when RyLee picked it, but since has changed its color and added some purple to it. Sorry I didnt take a picture.

RyLee also wrote and drew this in her journal, but the pictures came out very blury. I will retake and add hers later.

Update on Skunk Cabbage! Yuck!

New fact we learned about the Skunk Cabbage last week! Yuck.... I read that bears eat the roots, because it acts like a laxative for them in the spring. They dig it up and eat it after a long winter.


Isn’t that amazing... and yet disgusting!? *Ü*

How ingenuous is that? God and animals never cease to amaze me.We also read that Skunk Cabbage generates enough heat to melt snow that is around it! ??? Again, very interesting stinky little plant!

They came!!

The lady bugs finally came from insect lore! RyLee was pretty happy, but only 4 larve survived the 2 day trip. :( This is something she is working on right now outside of our focus area.



The focus area feels a bit stalled for her. Weather is not permitting us to go get dirty yet!

Ducks!

We had a couple ducks in out wet land area on our property a week or 2 ago. 1 male Mallard and one mallard female.

I was a little sad when they left. Although, I am known for not liking ducks.... they are messy and I don’t like the breeding rituals they sometimes have... sad.. but an honest answer....

Dan mentioned the other day that the ducks were back... I didn’t get to see them, but today RyLee and I did get to see them again. Unfortunately, when I went out to take a picture, they flew over our heads.

I hope they come back. Next time I will sneak out the back and creep up. I was quiet and walked slow, but I got to close.

Here are a few pictures I took when they first came.




The site I linked is great for a general overview. You can even hear how they sound!

Bone Sigh Not Bon Zigh!

April 8th we went to a garden called Elandan Gardens. If you click the link in the name Elandan Gardens I linked the history of the garden for you.

It was a lot of fun touring the grounds. By the end of our little walk the owner Dan came and spoke to us all about Bonsai. I linked in the word Bonsai the bonsai basics link from the site. Its short but a good overview.



Some of the trees he has in his garden are over 1500 years old, so he claims. On all most all of the trees he has the name of the tree, the history, how he got it and the date of origin. Here are a few of my favorite pictures that I took.




.




Dan shared how he has been gardening for about 30 +years?? If my memory is serving me right. He shared his experiences and he began to collecting Bonsai. He shared how weather conditions and elevation are what can create these tiny stunted trees, when they should be very large!

He has traveled all over in search for and collecting his Bonsai trees. He really has a passion and it showed. The garden was much larger than I imagined. Its been around for years and this was our first time in.


A part of the trip I wont forget, was when I first walked in the shop to pay to go out in the garden, this little guy came and sat on my foot. *Ü*



I do believe he knew by doing so a friendly pat on the head would soon follow. He was right! How could I resist. His name? Sushi. *Ü* The owner Dan told us that he was actually born a Great Dane, but used some Bonsai techniques on him and it stunted his growth. *Ü* Isn’t he cute!

He had 2 other buddies in the shop. This one is Asia.



and Sunny



I want to go back and take another tour. It was an interesting place and had lots to see. I didnt spend a lot of time reading all the tags by the trees, so I would like to take my time on the next visit.

Nature Walk

This Nature Walk was on March 31st. I think. *Ü* We went with Tina and another friend. Back to walk the last leg of Clear Creek trail. This wasn’t as exciting as the first 2 portions. It was a large board walk then went across marsh and field. We enjoyed the company though! *Ü*

We cam across a few familiar things.

yellow skunk cabbage:



and the

pussy willow:




One of the kids found a hornets or wasp nest. It was not occupied. *Ü*



Something we have not seen before on our nature walks were the red-dead-nettle. Scientific name is Lamium purpureum. At least this is what my conclusion is after looking over different sites and picyures online. Im not sure what the little white flowers are though.



The Red Dead-nettle is actually a weed. It has pretty little pinkish/purplish flowers on it. Come to find out, parts are even edible! Uh yuck... but then I have not tried it*Ü* and doubt that I will. I will let the ground keep this one. *Ü*

It also hailed on us as we were heading back. It cut the walk short, but as the grey clouds loomed, I really didn’t want to be out.... we almost made it back before it began! The kids got a kick out of it.