I took an early morning walk around Mariton Wildlife Sanctuary this morning to see what wildflowers I could find. Right at the entrance to the Main Trail, showy dame’s rocket was bursting with with its soft, lavender and white flowers. As I walked along, I spotted jack-in-the-pulpit blooming inconspicuously long the woodsy trail. I noted wild geranium, fleabane, golden ragweed, dwarf dandelion, star of Bethlehem, ox eye daisy, and anise root. (All of this was ID’s through my iNaturalist app.) I’m still learning the east coast flora and I’m sure I will be learning for a long time. But the highlight of my walk today was the blooming Mayapple. I’ve seen these attractive umbrella like plants in many different locations in the area, and as I was hiking today, I caught a large patch of them in bloom. Mayapple is a native woodland plant that grows in colonies in deciduous forests, shady fields and along riverbanks. The plant is highly toxic except for fruit, but I personally am not that brave to try it. Another favorite of mine are the tulip trees. This time of year you can find the flowers that have dropped from the trees above along the forest floor. The flowers are a delicate shade of pale yellow outlined in bright orange. They’re usually high above in the trees and are easily missed until they fall from the trees.
Click “Read More” below for more photos from the day.
We went back to Bear Creek Preserve today. Last time we were here we were snowshoeing and it was 19 degrees. Looks quite a bit different in the spring. Everything in Pennsylvania is a lush green now and the mountains are filled with blooming Mountain Laurel. We hiked from the main parking area off Rabbit Run following the red trail. It took us down a muddy, rocky service road that was under construction. As we reached a clearing to a power line, I saw a black bear meandering around the open field. We were far enough away to make our presence known by making noise and putting the bear whistle to use. As we did, the bear slowly headed away from our direction and disappeared into the field. We crossed the clearing and headed back into the woods. We then connected to the gray trail where we used the suspension bridge to cross over shades creek. We followed the trail passing in and out of rhododendron tunnels along side the creek enjoying its many cascades. We found the use trail that took us to a very small waterfall just off the main trail and stopped to enjoy the scenery. As we left the creekside, the trail took us back into the hardwoods and a blooming sea of Mountain Laurel. The day was cloudy, but it was beautiful nonetheless and a great day for a hike. I enjoyed seeing Bear Creek Preserve during the spring.
