Tag: Nature

Dwarf Trout Lily

IMG_1798This is a re-post from my previous blog site. Looking for the Dwarf Trout Lily has now become an annual spring event for me…I love Nerstrand and wildflowers and springtime and walking in the woods! Naturalists are now in the park on weekends during the Dwarf Trout Lily’s bloom season  to point it out to those in search of the precious flower.

My favorite park is Big Woods State Park, or affectionately known as Nerstrand. The maple-basswood forest has lovey trails and a Hidden Falls…and camping. We have camped there several times over the years but since it is really close to where we live I can hop in the car and be there in no time, so I go there often.  It’s a favorite place to go…for all seasons.

I go on an annual Dwarf Trout Lily hunt. The Minnesota dwarf trout lily (Erythronium propullans) is a federally endangered forest wildflower found in Rice, Goodhue, and Steele Counties, Minnesota. Because it is known only from this small area the dwarf trout lily is considered a Minnesota “endemic” – i.e. a species that grows in Minnesota and nowhere else on earth.* Now that’s exciting.

I know one spot on the trail where they bloom among thousands of Common Trout Lilies.  So I walk the trail and look for my treasure and when I find it I am delighted to have seen it once again. I use my finger as a reference point for pictures so one can see how tiny the flowers are.

Then I continue to walk along the trail and spy the Marsh Marigolds, Spring Beauties, Anemones, Violets and Dutchman’s Breeches. The trees are starting to but out and the hint of “spring” green is so beautiful. The branches are airy and you can see right through them to the hilly woods that are normally leafed-covered in the summer.

I’m grateful for this gift and the opportunity to experience nature. My heart is joyful and I praise the Lord for the beauty that surrounds me.

* Sather, N. 1990. “Minnesota dwarf trout lily: an endangered Minnesota          wildflower.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul. 9 pages.

Tree Trimming

Our Evergreens

After dinner and a daily walk, we had a tree-trimmer stop by to look at the trees in our yard. We planted all twenty of them when we moved into our house 20+ years ago. We had a corner lot in a small town that did not have one tree on the property. The trees have grown so tall and so full and I love the privacy they provide, the protection for the birds I feed, shade for our back deck and not to mention the beauty they add to our neighborhood. But now, some of them need trimming,

While walking around the yard tonight and pointing out the trees to the contractor giving us an estimate I was taken back to a time when my sons were little and we lived in a different neighborhood on property that had mature trees. There were two very tall Evergreens in the back yard. The boys would climb the trees from the inside, near the trunk, to avoid the needles and fragile branches of pine trees. They had a lot of fun in those trees.

However one day in particular stands out when they decided to trim the dead branches to make their “steps” easier to climb. They did a fine job however the unexpected result was the tree sap started running and by the time they came in that night they had sap all over themselves and their clothes. They smelled good, but sure were sticky!

I miss those days and I treasure the memories of when my guys were growing up.