Heeding the call of the woods

Sudden sunshine and unseasonable warmth drove me into the woods this week, first at Luke Chute yesterday and then at Lake Katharine today. I've avoided venturing into the woods for fear that our very wet winter would leave trails muddy and dangerous, but this week there was no denying the call of the wild.

At Luke Chute the pollinator habitat appears at first to be bleak and barren, but look closely and you'll see tiny spots of color close to the ground, from bluets and mosses and colorful lichens. In the woods a hairy woodpecker hopped along a fallen tree while another moss-covered log sprouted bright red hairy stalks that shimmied in the breeze. A few stands of feathery Dutchman's breeches offered the promise of blossoms in the coming weeks.

Hiking Lake Katharine was a more demanding experience, giving my new hiking shoes a good workout. In a few spots the path was seriously muddy and showed clear signs of our wet, windy winter: downed trees and limbs tangled in the woods and lowlands were coated with mud and debris. The stillness was intense, punctuated occasionally by the calls of spring peepers and pileated woodpeckers and, once, a pair of ducks exploding into flight.

I wasn't in the woods more than 30 seconds before I saw my first eastern towhee of the season, and later I startled a pair of hawks that took off flying right overhead. I remembered my water bottle but left behind my hat and walking stick, both of which I really needed, but I did pretty well for the first real hike of the season. I have no doubt that spring will bring more wet, chilly weather, but when a day like today comes along, it would be a shame to ignore the call of the woods.

Dutchman's breeches! No blossoms yet.

At Lake Katharine: Gateway to gorgeousness

Does this look like a snake's head to you?

Yep, that's mud. We're down in the  floodplain.

Club moss! So cute.

Wind has done its work--and so have chainsaws.