Spring's Fleeting Beauty

After the stark landscape of winter....

it is with great anticipation that I look forward to the return of Spring.

 This year I visited Brown and Door County, Wisconsin during the second week of May with the plan of enjoying the wildflowers present during that 'slice of time'. First, was a morning's visit to Barkhausen Waterfowl Preserve. Along the winding path....

fiddleheads were unfurling.

Skunk Cabbages and...

The  tiny flowers are on a spadix and are being protected by being inside the mottled brown spathe (on the ground under the green leaves of the Skunk Cabbage). The skunk odor attracts flies and gnats for pollination.

Marsh Marigolds were blooming.

The flowers attract the spring butterflies and insects. The migrating warblers then feed on the insects.

 Then on to Door County for the rest of the time. Here, plants are poking up from the drab leaf litter of the woodland floor, adding color to the landscape.

 It gets even better when there are wildflowers in bloom!

Big White Trillium

Big White Trilliums and Bellworts

Wood Anemone

Wood Anemone

Hepatica

 These early blooming 'jewels' decorating the forest floor are busily taking advantage of their small window of opportunity to utilize the sunlight before...

 the trees' canopy fills in and the woodland floor is cast into deep shade.

 A visit to Ridges Sanctuary, a very ecologically diverse area with conifer forests, wetlands, bogs,etc.

 provided another opportunity to witness the emergence of Spring's beauty.

Dwarf Lake Iris

 The Dwarf Lake Iris has been a threatened specie since 1988 with a high probability of being put on the endangered list.With the development of shorelines, widening roads, chemical sprays, and off road vehicle use, its habitat is dwindling. It thrives in the cool lake air and is found along the northern shores of the Great lakes in Michigan and Wisconsin.

In Wisconsin the Dwarf Lake Iris is found only in three counties; Brown, Door, and Milwaukee.

Trailing Arbutus is one of the first Spring flowers to bloom. Sometimes they are not easily seen because of their 'creeping' nature under the leaf debris. But,these white/pink beauties were noticed :-)

 Sometimes the little 'shot' of color was not as noticeable, but if you looked hard enough.....

A flash of pink in the middle of the picture.

 they started to appear!

Bog Rosemary- 1st Spring it produces leaves and then flower buds in the summer. Flower buds overwinter and the cluster of urn-shaped flowers bloom the following year.

Pitcher Plant-a carnivorous plant with hollow, basal, pitcher-shaped leaves that attract and trap insects.

Pussy Willow-catkin

Sweet Gale- female catkin with its showy purple/red stigmas.

Sweet Gale- male catkin, the brown bracts arch over and shelter the flowers.

Larch - beginning to leaf out.

 Many of the flowers do not look like much from a short distance......

  if you carefully get down to their level.....

Arctic Primrose

 and very close up, they are quite spectacular!

 The seeds are thought to have been brought to this area with the Canadian ice sheets thousands of years ago.

Newport State Park was another setting that I enjoyed. There was no way that I could resist this path...

with the woodland floor covered in flowers!

                                 Long-Spurred Violet

The lower petal forms the 1/2" spur.

The top and side petals attract the pollinating insects and the bottom petal is the landing pad.

Bellwort, the leaves and bell-shaped flowers droopy appearance are characteristic for this plant.

The twisting,curving petals were absolutely beautiful on this one!

Besides the flowers, there were plenty of other plants making their appearance.

                                                           Lady Slipper

                                                                  Rattlesnake Fern

                                                                  Birch

                                                           Clintonia/Blue Bead Lily

           Wild Leeks in the background and then back to flowers with the Downy Yellow Forest Violet.

                                                              Blue Cohosh

Small, yellow-green flowers starting to open.

Blueish colors on the new leaves of the Blue Cohosh plant.

                                                         Wood Anemone

white flower with 4-9 petal-like sepals.

Anemone refers to the way the delicate flower, leaves, and stems tremble in the wind.

Flower has no nectar and little scent since it is wind pollinated.

                                          Sharp-lobed and Round-lobed Hepaticas

Flowers can be blue,pink or white.

The purple/brown mottled leaves from the winter are replaced by new green ones after the flowering period.

Sharp-lobed?

Wispy stems tremble in the wind like the Anemones.

Gardeners may pick up some ideas for attractive ways to arrange their plants/gardens by some of the examples seen in nature.

Canada Mayflower or Wild-Lily-of-the Valley

Some very little flowers

Small-Flowered Crowfoot?

                                                     Canada Buffaloberry

Russet flower, leaves green on the upper side and rusty spots underneath

       A stand of Birches.....

with Big White Trilliums.

The Big White Trillium takes 6 years to go from seed to flower. First year the seeds germinate underground and the second year it sends up a shoot. The next several years it produces leaves and the 6th year flowers!

This Trillium is an oddity- it is a 'Double' Trillium....6 petals instead of 3!!

                                                           Wild Strawberry

Now, a patch of one of my favorite flowers....

the Trout Lily.
 I found it to be very attractive and elegant from any angle.....

Takes 7 years to blossom, for 6 years it sends up a single leaf, 7th year 2 leaves and the blossom.

with its nodding, yellow head and curving lines of the petals and...

Flower opens in the sun and closes at night.

sepals :-)

The mottled coloration of the leaves resembles a Trout.

                                                      Simply Gorgeous !

                                                     Another sign of Spring :-)

Just sitting and watching the world go by.

Besides the wildflowers, it was a treat to have the cherry orchards bloom. The foggy/misty morning was an excellent setting to end our trip on :-)

This was just one week in May. I do believe future trips will be made in the upcoming years in order to see the many flowers that appear and fade away as the Spring season progresses.The ephemeral Spring, one of my favorite times of the year :-)