Inspired by all that open ground at the Saratoga Battlefield yesterday, I thought I'd try some of my other favorite haunts for a walk today, wondering if maybe the snow had retreated some. Ha! Dream on! That stuff is still up to my knees!
If I kept to the woods, there was usually crust enough to walk on with only occasional post-holes, so I went to one of my favorite woods at the Orra Phelps Nature Preserve. The streams there were running fast and free, but deep snow still heaped the banks.
Despite ample sunshine, it hasn't warmed up enough these past days to melt the ice that forms along the creeks in the sub-freezing nights.
The sunshine doesn't seem able to melt all that snow, but Skunk Cabbage does the job OK. This plant can generate its own heat, which helps to attract early pollinators to the flowers that hide out inside those purple spathes.
Here's a pretty good shot of that blooming spadix tucked away in its protective hood. I love the elegant curves of those spathes, and also their gorgeous color.
My next stop was Mud Pond at Moreau Lake State Park, where the snow had retreated along its west-facing banks. The snow still lay deep in the woods, however, which made walking difficult, and ice still hugged most of the shore. Poking about in the few little patches of open water, I could find not a single sign of life: no newts or tadpoles or spiders or water bugs -- not even a minnow!
Looking back into my archives for last March, I discovered quite a different scene just over a year ago. Click here to see the comparison.
