Lucia's Snapshots of Wonders Found

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Mid-Summer Dreaming

St. John's wort, (Hypericum perforatum).

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Trout lily (Erythronium americanum)

There has been no significant rain for a few weeks now here in southern Vermont. With that and the unusually warm weather in March the vernal ponds are very low. The salamanders need a warm rainy night in spring to migrate to the vernal pools but unfortunately, they didn't have enough rain to migrate so not too many of them made it and are hiding out until they can. The wood frogs laid their eggs during that warm week in March which is very early. And the mosquitos have already made an appearance before April.

Coltsfoot and Dutchman's Breeches

Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)

Dutchman's breeches (Dicentra cucullaria)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Spring in Vermont

Friday, January 20, 2012

"Let the beauty you love, be what you do. There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth." -Rumi

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Treasures of Spring

I was just going through some of my older photos from my phone last night and found some treasures. The photos themselves aren't my best and my hope is to replace the photos with better ones I will take with my new camera. Unfortunately, Hurricane Irene flooded the area I found some of these treasures. I am sending lots of love to the very special spot where I found a good sized patch of Bloodroot and just one Dutchman's breeches.

"One of the biggest issues with habitat loss is the fragmentation of plant populations. Many of our native woodland plants produce ant-dispersed seeds: Bloodroot, Hepatica, Trillium, Bleeding heart, Wild ginger, Trout lily, and Dutchman’s breeches are a few examples." -Juliet Blankespoor

Juliet's blog, Castanea has a wealth of information. I highly recommend it! http://blog.chestnutherbs.com/2012/cultivating-medicinal-herbs-with-a-focus-on-at-risk-woodland-medicinals/

Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)

This was my choice as a child for my wand in the summer and also in the autumn when the flower umbels dry so beautifully. This flower has always been a Queen Anne's Lace for me but it is also known as Wild Carrot. It is in the Apiaceae family or Carrot/Parsley family. The roots are edible like the cultivated carrot, but make sure you are 100% sure you have identified this plant as Daucus carota because it looks similar to the deadly Poison Hemlock.