{"id":1236,"date":"2026-06-09T18:43:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/?p=1236"},"modified":"2026-06-09T18:43:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:43:49","slug":"a-great-day-in-the-woods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/2026\/06\/09\/a-great-day-in-the-woods\/","title":{"rendered":"A Great Day in the Woods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I suppose as with most folks nowadays, I find time is racing by. Each season seems to zip past while I’m busy seeing to routine chores and new projects in the garden. I find I have to actually stop and make time to thoughtfully examine, absorb, appreciate all of the progression that our garden is going about, all while as these weeks are passing by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early spring bulbs are long gone, most without a trace of their even being here. just like the Juncoes of winter, which brought life to the garden for months on end. The sight of their telltale, white tail feathers as they flit and zag thru the shrubs and trees ( for me ) act like bookends to my gardening year. Always noting their arrival and ultimate absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleanup, pruning, planting, dividing, moving, weeding, and on and on. I was caught off guard at just how much calendar-time had transpired, and I hadn’t gotten out for a good tramp about in our native woods.!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was Mid-May, still way too much needed attention, but I’d gotten a call, that “the Trillium were in peak bloom” in the north woods!! Verlie & I jumped into my little, dirt-colored truck and shot out of the gate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Growing up in SE Michigan I spent most all of my childhood rummaging about in what I knew of as “the woods”. In reality they were derelict farm woodlots or once fields reverting back to forest succession. A few violets, some bloodroots and Jack-in-the-pulpits, an exotic Cardinal Flower, even stranger, Bottle Gentians. But that was pretty much it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Its not that Trilliums were not to be found in such humble ,if not urban environs. Rather my experiences in the Metro-Parks System was limited to the Swimming Pools and Pic Nic areas only, or the sledding hills in winter. It wasn’t until decades later, when I’d met Dick Punnett that I was introduced to the magical-abundance of ground smothering trilliums in Michigan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sadly, there are precious few sites left “Downstate” where one can experience these first-rate garden plants, that once carpeted nearly the entire State. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, there miles upon miles of trillium-infested acres to be wandered about in, a mere drive to the North!.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As delightful as this over-emersion in snow-white glory is ( and it really really is ) there are a few added bonuses to making the drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Morels and mutations! The former need no explanation, while the later is a matter of endless interest. Over the years of wanderings, there’s always new and unusual forms to encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some weird,<\/p>\n\n\n

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others interesting, while still others are …<\/p>\n\n\n

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somewhat odd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In one particular woodlot there are some that skip flowers all together but produce a multitude of leaves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The possibilities seem endless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is often a surprise or two with each trip. This handsome little warbler was flushed from the forest floor, only to very into a branch of one of the countless, fallen tree-tops (that came down in a previous ice-storm ) and momentarily stunned itself, allowing us the added pleasure of a brief, upclose, encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On rare occasions, there are truly some simply exquisite forms…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…that need no description.<\/p>\n\n\n

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All in all, a great day in the woods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I suppose as with most folks nowadays, I find time is racing by. Each season seems to zip past while I’m busy seeing to routine chores and new projects in the garden. I find I have to actually stop and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1258,"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1236\/revisions\/1258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glcnargs.org\/glcgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}