Click the tabs for Spring 2023 program and wildflower walk summary highlights.

Judy Barnhart wrote a summary of the Garlic Mustard Workshop that was held on Earth Day, April 22nd. The summary contains macro photographs of the garlic mustard aphid by Rebecah Troutman. Click on the button for further information and reading.

22 April 2023
The Working Woods at Holden, program led by: Rebecah Troutman, Holden Forests and Gardens Natural Areas Biologist

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19 April 2023
Thompson Ledges, co-leaders: Lisa K. Schlag and Fred Losi

It was wonderful to enjoy our first wildflower walk of 2023 with such interesting and engaging folks. The last time NPSNEO visited the park was in 2010. We observed patches of the lovely ground hugging trailing arbutus, Epigaea repens scattered throughout the upper ledges. The pink to white flowers were in bloom and their lovely scent was appreciated by many willing to get on bended knee.
Along with Fred, several participants ventured down to the lower ledges through a narrow passage way between the Sharon Conglomerate boulders to see a variety of spring ephemerals. Thank you! to several walk participants who shared interesting memories of their past adventures and historical details of this geological gem of a park.

Wayne Mazorow captured the beautiful details and color of trailing arbutus flowers. Thank you! Wayne for sharing your photograph.

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Click the tabs for summary highlights of the Spring 2021 Wildflower Walk Series and each of the seven wildflower walks written by Judy Barnhart.
For additional field observations of specific walks, click the field notes tab.

The saga of the Native Plant Society spring wildflower walks for 2021 ranged from one weather extreme to another. After cancelling all the walks in 2020 due to Covid-19, we decided to repeat the 2020 schedule this year. The flexibility of the leaders made this possible and we wish to extend our apprciation to each of them. The board decided to have just one board member in attendance to leave room for as many society members and friends as possible. With the state mandate at the time, each walk was limited to a total of ten participants.

We ended up doing two hikes each in Cuyahoga, Geauga, and Portage counties with one in Lake County. This provided participants a chance to see a variety of habitats. Next year we hope to open the hikes to more people as they are popular.

A special thank you to each of the hike leaders for being flexible with us. And, a special thank you to treasurer and website admin Lisa Schlag for setting up and coordinating the on-line registration system, a new venture for us. She was up late nights monitoring reservations and cancellations, contacting those on the waiting list, and sending reminder email communications.

Judy Barnhart
NPSNEO President

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The month of April started off on a warm note. Temperatures soured into the 70's and 80's causing wildflowers to burst forth early. The weather eventually cooled slowing the emerging flowers down.

14 April 2021
Euclid Creek Reservation, walk leader: Clair Johnson
Our first walk at Euclid Creek Reservation with Clair and John was a bit chilly but the wildflowers cooperated with a burst of color.
Special note from Lisa: "Thank you John for standing in for me due to unexpected transportation challenges!"

21 April 2021
Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve, walk leaders: Adam Wohlever and Charles Fletcher
On the morning of the Eagle Creek walk with preserve manager Adam Wohlever, we awoke to several inches of snow blanketing the ground. The sun came out and melted most of the snow off the hardy native flowers, but kept many participants home.

28 April 2021
The Rookery, walk leader: Judy Barnhart
The following week at The Rookery with me had rain threatening all day long. The rain held off until we were driving out of the park after seeing several anemones on display.

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5 May 2021
Indian Point Park, walk leader: Vicki Solomon
The Virginia bluebells put on a show at Indian Point Park. Lake Metroparks Naturalist Vicki Solomons' enthusiasm delighted all in attendance.

12 May 2021
Tinker's Creek at Bedford Reservation, walk leader: Fred Losi
Detours and construction caused frustration on Fred's walk at Bedford Reservation as several participants had trouble finding the hike location.

19 May 2021
Morgan Park, walk leader: Jennifer White
The weather did a turn-about at Morgan Park in Portage County. After a week of no rain and temperatures in the 80's, the meadow was a little warm but made the normally wet woodland trails fairly dry. Dry enough so one guest in a motorized cart was able to follow along most of the way. Special thank-yous to Tim and John for lifting the cart over wet areas and board walks. Everyone made it back safely to their cars though a bit tired.

26 May 2021
Lucia Nash Preserve, walk leader: Linda Gilbert
Afternoon rain threatened our final walk at the Nature Conservancy's Lucia Nash Preserve with Naturalist Linda Gilbert. By walk time the rain had ended, providing a little much needed moisture for the wetland habitats. A wildflower walk turned into a bird walk with 31 species entered on eBird including serenading tundra swans calling in the wetlands. We finished admiring a pair of trumpeter swans from the Snow Lake deck.

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14 April 2021
Euclid Creek Reservation, contributed by Clair Johnson

On a pre-walk scouting of the Squirrel Trail, rue anemones, early meadow rues, bloodroots, blue cohoshes, trout lilies, spring beauties, cut-leaved toothworts, a few ferns and sedges scattered about, and blooming colt's foot were observed. This photograph of a cut-leaved toothwort, Cardamine concatenata, in bud was taken during an earlier pre-walk scouting by Lisa K. Schlag.
On the wildflower walk, nice stands of spring beauties were still present as well as pussytoes. Trilliums were observed during another pre-walk scouting and one was spotted along a slope by a walk attendee. A tiny buttercup close to the shelter was identified by Anna using the iNaturalist app.

21 April 2021
Eagle Creek State Nature Preserve, contributed by Charles Fletcher

There are a half dozen violet species here, but on this day sweet white violet, Viola blanda, ruled the day!
This photograph of sweet white violet was taken by Charles Fletcher.
It snowed the other day, but melted out just in time for the walk. Although that resulted in some no-shows, the flowers weren't among them. Trilliums, bluebells, phlox, squirrel corn, Jacob's ladder, marigolds, the list goes on! And, that was just at the entrance! The clubmoss yielded four species of clubmoss, a variety of trees, and still more flowers. Adam's exhaustive knowledge of the preserve and its history added atmosphere to nature.

28 April 2021
The Rookery, contributed by Judy Barnhart

Wild honeysuckle, Lonicera dioica, was observed along the Interurban Trail.
This photograph of the flowers, buds, and leaves of the native honeysuckle was taken by Judy Barnhart.

12 May 2021
Tinker's Creek ~ Bedford Reservation, contributed by Fred Losi
iNaturalist plant observation list
eBird observation list
Last, but not least: Despite being greatly past bloom, harbinger of spring, Erigenia bulbosa, was an appreciated discovery.

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