Bedford Reservation: Sagamore Creek Walk

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."     Lao Tzu

 

Bedford Reservation: Sagamore Creek bioObservation Survey

We had a wonderful time on the Wednesday evening of 16 April 2014 identifying and photographing various plants along the Linda Falls trail.  Our path led us through a woodland, along the edge of a ravine, and into a floodplain populated by wildflowers in differing stages of emergence.  Along the way we passed a white oak tree and were told that shed skins of black rat snakes have been observed in the branches.  None were observed on our evening walk.

Nature is a wonderful teacher.

Preserving Land and Protecting Habitats: Public Park Districts Deserve Our Support

Preserving land and protecting the habitat of threatened species is a magnificent investment in the future. One of the best ways to do this is to support our local parks and preserves. Public park districts especially deserve our support. It is imperative that we have protected places where the public can appreciate the peace and beauty of nature.

New Virtual Herbarium Sheets

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Serviceberry, Amelanchier sp.                                    &nbs…

Serviceberry, Amelanchier sp.                                                                            photograph courtesy of Lisa K. SchlaG    Spokan Swamp 2014

Two new virtual herbarium sheets have been posted:
chestnut oak and harbinger-of-spring

Wishing you a mighty fine spring day,
Lisa K. SchlaG        

Thompson Ledges Wildflower Walk

"The acorn is the only seed I can think of which is left by nature to take care of itself. It matures without protection, falls heavily and helplessly to the ground to be eaten and trodden on by animals, yet the few which escape and those which are trodden under are well able to compete in the race for life. ... It drives its tap root into the earth in spite of grass and brush and litter...."
Robert Douglas,
The Garden, No.921, Saturday, July 13, 1889, Vol.XXXVI


One of the most deeply meaningful experiences of being out in nature is the feeling of being connected -- in and through time. You are not only witnessing the present, but the past and future as well. Those who participated in the Thompson Ledges walk observed the many hundreds of sprouting, broken, and trodded upon acorns similar to those Robert Douglas observed and wrote about in 1889.
The "what" experienced in nature can be anything. The importance is the experience itself.

Thompson Ledges Wildflower Walk

Wishing you a good start to your week,
Lisa K. SchlaG