A Favorite Spring Walk
May 2, 2020 by New Hampshire Garden Solutions

We’ve seen cold, rain, snow and mostly cloudy days lately so last Saturday when it was wall to wall sunshine and 65 degrees, it seemed like a great gift. Since it was near time for wild columbines to bloom I set off along the old rail trail up in Westmoreland to the ledges where they grow. I saw all kinds of beautiful and interesting things there and it was hard to leave.

The first thing I saw was a small patch of coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara.) It’s hard to believe that it’s almost time to say goodbye to this cheery little spring ephemeral but I’m seeing white in almost all the flowers I look at these days, and white is a good sign that they’re setting seed.

Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) grows beside the trail and it was all ready to bloom. By now it probably has.

Maple buds were breaking; the first I’ve seen this year. New maple leaves are often bright red as these were.

The velvety buds of striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) were seen all along the trail. Sometimes they can be pink, orange, or a combination of the two like this one was.

When I looked at the other side of the bud I saw that it was breaking. The next time I come out here I should see leaves.

There is a lot of groundwater very close to the surface in Westmoreland and it runs from the cracks in the stone. That’s one reason such a variety of plants and mosses grow here.

Algae dripped from the cracks in the stone, or maybe they were washed down the face of the stone by the never ending drip of groundwater. I’ve read that they grow in nutrient rich places. They’re always interesting so I wanted to take a closer look.

The algae were spirogyra, with common names that include water silk and mermaid’s tresses. It is described as a “filamentous charophyte green algae of the order Zygnematales.” The strange thing that looks like a vacuum cleaner hose is a chloroplast, and its spiral growth habit is what gives these algae their name. There are more than 400 species of Spirogyra in the world, almost always found in fresh water situations. I see it on wet stone fairly regularly. According to what I’ve read, when used medicinally spirogyra are known as an important source of “natural bioactive compounds for antibiotic, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic purposes.”

That little black square up ahead is where we’re going, but it won’t be black when we get there.

Our wild cherries should be blooming soon, and the birds will be very happy about the abundance of fruit that will follow.

This is near the area where I saw a huge black bear last year at this time. Since there are high stone ledges and a southern exposure it would stay quite warm here in the winter I would think, and that tells me that it would be a perfect spot for a bear to live. The one I saw here certainly looked like it had been living the high life.

There is even a cave here, way up high in the cliff wall, and it’s plenty big enough for a bear. Thankfully the bear was elsewhere on this day. I carried a can of bear spray but I was very happy that I didn’t have to use it. I’ve been within touching distance of a few wild animals and last year’s encounter is the closest I ever want to be to a bear, but so far they seem to have sensed that I mean them no harm and we’ve gone our separate ways.

This is that black spot we saw in a previous photo and these are the ledges I was interested in visiting. They’re right alongside the trail and all kinds of plants grow here. I believe it’s because the stone is full of lime and the soil is much less acidic than in most other places I visit. Most Southern New Hampshire soil is quite acidic but you do find occasional “sweet spots” like this one.

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) seedlings grew at the base of the ledges. I see lots of these in the spring and I’ll see lots of their orange flowers later on.

I come out here to see wild columbines (Aquilegia canadensis) and there are plenty of them growing on the ledges. On this day most had buds but I didn’t see a single flower, so that means another trip out here this weekend. The spring shades of green are always electric here.

Here was a flower bud. Some buds looked to be close to opening but we aren’t getting a lot of sun lately so I wonder if they’ll be fully opened this weekend.

The spring shoots of smooth Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum biflorum) absolutely glowed, and it looked like someone had dipped a paintbrush in pure light and painted them there on the ledges. How beautiful they were. Native Americans and early colonists ate these shoots the way we would eat asparagus and they used the plant’s starchy roots in soups and stews, and dried them to make flour for bread. The Chippewa tribe sprinkled the dry roots on hot stones and inhaled the smoke to cure headaches.

Though herb Robert (Geranium robertianum) blooms from spring through October I didn’t see any flowers on this day, even though there were many plants growing at the base of the ledges. Native Americans used this plant medicinally for healing wounds, herpes and skin eruptions. The plant’s common name comes from a French monk who lived in 1000 AD, and who is said to have cured many people by using it. For that reason it is also called Saint Robert’s Herb.

There’s a nice clump of purple trillium (Trillium erectum) here at the base of the ledges and it had two or three blossoms on it this year. Last year there was only one.

One of the flowers looked a little torn but it was still beautiful.

Something I’ve been searching for for a long time are the small blue spring shoots of blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides) and this year I found them but I was about a week late and they had grown to about 6 inches high. They had also lost that vivid purplish blue color that they have when they have just come out of the ground. But now I know that next year I need to come a week or so earlier, and I’ll be here.

You can see a little bit of blue on this shoot but I’d bet by this posting the plant has already turned green. The green is kind of a light blueish green. Cohosh means “rough” when translated from Native American Algonquin language, and refers to the knobby root. A tincture of the root was said to start childbirth but science has shown the entire plant to be toxic. It’s shadow over on the right makes me think of an alien creature.
Treasures are hidden away in quiet places. They speak in soft tones and often become silenced as we approach. They don’t beg to be found, but embrace us if we do happen to find them. They are the product of completely ordinary circumstances unfolding in wonderfully extraordinary ways. They are found hidden in the nooks and crannies of our existence; all around us if we quit allowing our attention to be captivated by that which is noisy and listen for that which is quiet and still.
~Craig D. Lounsbrough
Thanks for Stopping in. It’s supposed to be a beautiful weekend here, so why not take a walk in the woods? The beauty and solitude you find there will most likely re-charge your batteries and will certainly help you put things into perspective. Stay safe everyone.
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Posted in Nature, Scenery / Landscapes, Wildflowers | Tagged Blue Cohosh, Canon SX40 HS, Coltsfoot, Herb Robert, Jewelweed Seedling, Keene, Native Plants, Nature, New Cherry Leaves, New Hampshire, NH, Olympus Stylus TG-870, Purple Trillium, Red Elderberry, Solomon's Seal Spring Shoots, Spirogyra Algae, Spring, Spring Flowers, Spring Maple Bud Break, Striped Maple Bud Break, Westmoreland NH, Wild Columbine | 19 Comments
I always have trouble distinguishing T. erectum and T. recurvatum. And I’ve never seen Columbine growing out of crevices like that. Is that A. canadensis?
Trillum recurvatum doesn’t grow here but Trillium erectum is native.
Yes the columbine is the Eastern Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis.) I don’t see it often and when I do it’s usually growing on stone cliff faces.
Our columbine have just come into flower in our garden today. They have been on the point of it for days but it has been very cold again.
You had a beautiful day for your spring walk. I am glad you were able to see so many interesting things.
Thank you Clare. I thought this past weekend would still be too early for ours so this coming weekend I’ll make another trip out there. I’m glad yours are blooming. It’s interesting that they bloom at the same time on both sides of the Atlantic.
They say it’ll be cold here this week too. I wish we’d both see some real spring weather!
We keep getting a little warmth for a day or two and then the north-easterlies return and it’s cold again. We are forecast to get up to 20C at the end of the week and then 11C again on Sunday!
That sounds just like the weather we’ve been having!
We are still waiting for our aquilegias to come out. The weather has been good for some flowers but very discouraging for others this year. I enjoyed your walk.
Thank you. Some of our flowers are later than usual but they seem to be doing well once the blossom.
Glad you had a good sunny day for walking! The photos are beautiful, and I love these natural history lessons. Our dark purple columbines are blooming already. One came in from a seed that was in a load of manure one year, and they have been busy spreading around the farm. The spirogyra is fascinating, especially that chloroplast. I had never seen one. There was also a British band way back in the late 60s early 70s called Spirogyra.
Thank you Lavinia. I love those dark purple columbines. they look almost black.
I remember that band!
There was another band, I think local to the Storrs area called E and the Coli.
That one I’ve never heard of.
I think they were a just a college band, local to the area and that mid to late 70s time frame. People came up with some great names!
What beautiful thoughts and photos, thank you for getting us out of the house
You’re welcome, and thank you Eddie. I’m glad you liked the post.
I’m sorry it took me so long to reply. Somehow your comment went into the spam folder!
I’ll be looking forward to seeing the columbine blossoms! What a lovely quote this is. I’ll be joyfully laboring in my gardens while you’re hiking today. Enjoy!
Thank you Ginny. I’m hoping you’ll see columbine blossoms here very soon!
No woods here so it is good to walk with you in yours, thank you.
You’re welcome Susan. You see lots of interesting things in the city.