Riverside Park Twice in 15 hours!

2012 03 25 and 26  Sunday was filled with family obligations, so no time for an afternoon walk, we (Mike and I) walked instead from 7 to 8 pm., part of the time in the dark.  How different things look here at dusk.  This is what we saw...

After a week of record high temperatures and then some rain, everything was green and leafy. 

 Purple Cress was all over the place.

Same with the Spring Beauty but most of these were closed up.  I don't really know which flowers close-up at night, or for the cold.

For the first time this year Trout Lily was sort of blooming.  Again this might have been closed up for the night?  There is white Trout Lily and yellow Trout Lily, these look like they might be white but we will have to see them open to tell for sure.

Trout Lily

Some Bloodroot was still blooming but most was already done with a seed pod sticking up between the leaf. 

Bloodroot with seed pod.

Some one was out kayaking.


And then the sun was setting as we headed back to the car.

Sun setting over Bass Lake in Ottawa County Michigan


2012 03 26
The next morning when I shared the news about Riverside being so green, with my sister (Sugar),  she was ready to hop in the car and go see the green for herself.  So that's just what we did, 15 hours after Mike and I had left Riverside.  Am I lucky or what?


So this is what we saw 15 hours later, one problem was it was only 36 degrees!  It was the beginning of a cool down, and it felt very cold after 70 and even 80 degrees the days before.

 Trout lily still closed up tight.

Another Trout Lily, none were open.

Most of the Bloodroot are done blooming, this one is closed up tight too.

Eastern Red Bud (Cercis canadensis) is budding out but also not yet open.

Lots of Eastern Red Bud

 The willow has done its blooming.

Farther along the trail there is a patch of Bloodroot still blooming, but not very open.

New for the year a buttercup...then we went back along the trail that has the most flowers and we found they were opening up a bit.

 Spring Beauty

 Violets, purple and yellow

Small-flowered Crowfoot (Ranunculus abortivus) Buttercup Family.

This Purple Cress was looking less peaky on our way back down the trail.
A beautiful day.  Thanks Sug.

Spring Wildflowers in Michigan

March 18 2012  Our unusual Sunday afternoon walk?  My sister Sugar and niece Amy came with Mike and me for this walk.  Well, Amy is young and has good eyes, she spotted all the wildflowers first. 

 Doesn't look like much as we start out down the trail.

                

   Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) Purslane family

Blood Root

         Blood Root (Sanguinaria canadensis) Poppy Family

   Purple Cress (Cardamine douglasii) Mustard family

   I'm not sure what these are, puff balls?

    Frog, Leopard Frog?

  Bug

   Snake, Garter Snake

Leopard Frog

            Frog

         Purple Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum) Mint family    

  Persian Speedwell (Veronica persica) Figwort Family

As usual my photos aren't as crisp as I would like, but that's what I get for not having the patience to use an advanced camera, just my good old point and shoot.  I just want the flower to look like what I see with my eyes but not have to fuss with different settings.  If I had a better memory I could just look at the flower then remember it.  I guess I don't have to take pictures at all, I have lots of books with pictures of the flowers already.  Hm...

Needless to say I had fun.