June - Prairie Wildflowers at Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve

 June 24th-Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve

Photos and Prose by Melissa Fey


Welcome Summer!  This week the Summer Solstice came in and the weather has been pretty typical for summer with sunshine and warm temps.  A trip to the prairie was in order.

You do not need to venture far from the parking lot to see the summer color.  These flowers were seen at the edge of the parking lot.

Rough -fruited Cinquefoil ( Potentilla recta) 
A member of the Rose Family
The individual petals look like little hearts


Smooth Ruellia - Wild Petunia (Ruellia strepens)



There are more plants across the road from the parking lot along the trail that are growing, but not flowering yet.  




Prairie Dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum)
This is an individual plant, but both sides of the east trail are covered with the plants.



Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)




 

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Member of the Mint Family 
This plant has beautiful purple flowers  that will start to bloom in August. The domestic version is known as Bee Balm.


A short hike down Veronica's Trail shows off many Summer Plants.



The Show Stopper right now is the Blue False Indigo (Baptisia australis)
A member of the Pea Family.  
The Indians would use the root of the plant as a blue dye.




Prairie Rose (Rosa setigera)




Sweet Coneflower (Rudbeckia subtomentosa)
A member of the Daisy Family - they look similiar
to Black-Eyed Susan


Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)


Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
The fernlike leaves are very aromatic.


There is a nice respite on Veronica's Trail with a bench in the shade overlooking the marsh






There are lots of sedges, rushes and grasses along the trail.   How do you tell the difference between the three?  This little rhyme about the construction of the stems will help you with this question. 

Sedges have wedges,
Rushes are round,
Grasses are hollow all to the ground.

The next time you encounter one of these plants, roll the stem between your fingers to determine whether you are holding a sedge, rush or grass (you will have to break open the grass to determine if it is indeed hollow). 






There were Beardtongues (Penstemon) plants along the trail that were white or light pink in color.  There were also Beardtongues plants along the road that were dark purple in color.



Along the road, you will always find what is often considered to be weeds.  However, many of those "weeds" are actually native plants.  This Common Mullein  (Verbascum thapsus) is a good example of that.  It is a member of the Snapdragon Family.






Hope you take the time to take  a Summer walk along Veronica's Trail to enjoy the Prairie Wildflowers.  








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Yellows - Early Morning Hike at Loblolly Marsh NP

Image
 September 2, 2024 Labor Day - Early morning hike at Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve Words and photos by Melissa Fey I was excited to wake up early this morning, long before the sun thought about rising.  I hurried to the marsh, donned by Muck Boots and hit the trail.  I like to make this hike at least once a year, normally in late Summer.   You see this is when the 'Yellows' are blooming.  (you will soon see what I am talking about) Yes, it was cold this morning, 52*.  But after the heat of last week, if felt refreshing.  I was out of the parking lot by 6:45am, plenty of time to get to the where I wanted to be to watch the sun rise.   This trail doesn't have a name, that I know of.  I starts just south of the bridge over the Loblolly Creek going east following the creek until there is a ditch coming in from the south, It didn't take long before the wildflowers were lining the trail. False Sunflower Canada Goldenrod Pokeweed (okay not a sunflower) Field Thistle Wingstem
Read more

White Oak Cemetery - February 4, 2023

Image
White Oak Cemetery Jackson Township, Jay County Indiana on 850N just west of 250W On this cold Winter day I chose to walk the quiet solitude of the White Oak Cemetery.   The sun made for the feeling    of warmth, although it wasn't.  As I walked down the winding lane to the cemetery I could hear a Pileated Woodpecker and White Breasted Nuthatches.  As I entered the cemetery a group of Juncos flew from the graves into the bushes.  A single Robin could be heard calling. I had disturbed their quiet foraging in this sacred place.  I wished I had  brought some paper and pencil to do grave rubbings (not robbings).  It was difficult to read much of the lettering.  It was necessary to look from above or the side to see the words clearly.  So much of the information was lost to time and the elements.  Find-a-grave listed 126 graves.  But that does not really tell the story of the White Oak Cemetery.  Yes, the graveyard is surrounded by White Oak trees.  Many of them extremely large which at
Read more

Sunrise at the Marsh

Image
  Sunrise at the Marsh Loblolly Marsh Nature Preserve Sunday March 5, 2023   Prose and Photos by Melissa Fey I walked the road south knowing there would be little or no traffic. The road was flooded and only the foolish would attempt crossing it. The trees were filled with Red-winged Blackbirds.   Their songs were loud and boisterous. They were at the top of the trees to catch the first morning light. As I walked I recorded the sounds of the Blackbirds along with Song Sparrows, Mourning Doves, American Tree Sparrows, American Robins and, of course, the Canada Goose. Have you ever heard the thumping noise of the wings of the Canada Goose as they take off over water? It is quite impressive. I also heard the wing beats of the Song Sparrows as they flew past me.   This is what the stillness   of the morning will allow you to hear. After passing the bridge over the Loblolly Creek, I noticed the sun peaking over the horizon.   As I continued to walk, the sun rose higher in its ma
Read more