dutchman's breeches
carolina spring beauty
Toothwort (forgot this one was out there)
large-flowered trillium
wood anemone
The one thing that I could not adequately capture was the evening light through the new leaves. Wow!! Rosey-yellowy-green. pretty incredible. I did try to get a picture of some of the views along this portion back towards downtown Duluth:
Porter came along for the hike and was actually quite feisty out there. He enjoys these days with a cool wind off of the Lake and had fun checking out all the smells and doing his bit to redistribute a deer skeleton.
Yeah, looks pretty patient here doesn't he?!
Todays hike was a good break for my legs. Ran to work Tuesday (hilly, with an extra hill and some bushwhacking thrown in for good measure). Ran the NMTC Western Waterfront Race/Run yesterday. Five miles in 43 minutes. I am happy with that time. For some reason I have had a lot of trouble on this course over the past years. One year it was an unstoppable bloody nose that turned me around less than a mile in. Several times it was asthma attacks that made it a bit of a struggle to complete. It is a relatively flat course by NMTC standards (though has a doozy of a hill right at the end) and is run along the St. Louis River estuary in West Duluth. It can be hot back there! My theory on the asthma attacks is that it happens to fall on the same week that something I am particularly allergic to is blooming. Who knows about the bloody nose!
This year things seemed to come together and I think I ran well - especially in light of the recent race. Focused on my breathing and ignored all the little aches and pains. After Tuesday's run to work the pain behind my right knee is back. Note - wore the orthotics for that run due to all the road on that route. Yesterday ran without the orthotics. I am testing a theory here. Anyway, knee is still a bit sore today so chose to hike vs run.
Trying to decide what length of long run to attempt this weekend. 18 miles? Something less?
I hear the trout lilys are blooming in Jay Cooke State Park. Friend sent me some photos - white and yellow. I am hoping to do my long run out that way and catch these while they are still blooming.
Soon to come: ladyslippers! Yellows should be on their way in a another couple of weeks. The section I hiked today has yellow ladyslippers right on the trail, so I will need to head back out in the coming weeks.
Best for last:
Adoxa!!!
Look for the non-descript greenish-yellow flowers poking up from the compound leaves. They are near the canada mayflower leaf in the center of the picture (the adoxa is that low stuff surrounding the mayflower leaf). I know - only exciting for wildflower geeks ;-> [From Spring Flora of Minnesota by Thomas Morley: A. moschatellina L. Glabrous herb with a musky odor; leaflets obovate, 3-cleft; corolla yellowish-green, 5-8mm wide. Rich moist soils in woods, or in the north often in rocky or mossy places, Fillmore, Winona, Wabasha and Goodhure counties, and in Carlton Co. and the s. 1/2 of St. Louis County.]
Note: I have seen it further north - Lutsen for example.
3 comments:
I thought I saw a ladyslipper during the Superior 50K, but identifying them before blooming (while running) is impossible. So many of the other spring flowers are tiny, white and close to the ground that they start to blend together.
Wow, you did ANOTHER run this week?? Cool! Have a great weekend!
Steve,
Must have been on the section after Oberg ;->
I am terrible with green leaves - especially at a run. And I have been known to walk right by ladyslippers and not see them until I have turned around and am on my way back. Happened yesterday with a patch of Adoxa, didn't see it on the uphill, spotted it on my way back down.
The joy - or is that agony - of spring ephemerals is that they are, for the most part, all white and low to the ground. At my pace, not so hard to pick out - at yours?! I could see the problem.
I spotted a lot of things while "power hiking" up hill, others while stuck behind a group or tiptoeing around the rocks and roots. Probably missed a lot too.
Hope the ankle is feeling better.
Chris,
not only did I run I am in the midst of planning my long run for tomorrow - 17 miles if it goes as planned. Meeting a friend who lives near Jay Cooke State park with the intent of running part of the Voyageur course and who knows what else. Good time to spot wildflowers and gather ticks (yuck!).
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