On a recent Sunday, we drove to a park in the next county to walk a section of the Ice Age Trail. This particular loop of trail circles a spring-fed kettle lake and runs through a surprising diversity of terrain, including fen, sedge meadow, savanna, wet and dry forest, and mesic prairie. (In plain English: lots of trees and water and flowers.)
The day is warm, with a fresh breeze blowing. Near the start of the trail, a sunny bridge beckons us onward:
Of course I'm keeping an eye out for wildflowers, and soon spot a woodland sunflower:
Over our heads are the velvety berries of staghorn sumac:
As the terrain segues to oak woodland, acorns begin to appear:
Sunshine filters down through the canopy:
A tall aster blooms in an open spot:
Though we're circling a lake, the lake itself is rarely seen. Here we get a glimpse of it through the trees:
Heal-all blooms by the side of the trail:
And I'm excited to spot a great blue lobelia; I haven't seen one in years:
Clumps of moss dot the forest floor:
A second bridge marks the start of a transition from woodland to sedge meadow:
As the tree canopy slowly gives way, different flowers begin to appear. First we see white snakeroot:
Then evening primrose:
And horsemint:
An outlet stream crosses the flowery meadow:
Next we spy thistle:
Blue vervain:
And glorious swathes of goldenrod and Joe-Pye-weed:
We cross a long boardwalk over a fen, then we're back on a sandy path leading through a short section of trees. Another turn, and suddenly we're out on the windy prairie, where yet more goldenrod is framed by the white berries and wine-tinted leaves of grey dogwood:
Great waves of Queen Anne's lace break against the now-grassy trail:
Sunny yellow cup-plant blossoms reach for the blue sky above:
Huge clumps of black-eyed Susan delight the eye:
And coneflowers wave ragtag skirts in the wind:
After threading our happy way through this glory of wildflowers, we stop for one last photo of goldenrod and black-eyed Susan:
Then the trail turns a final corner and we're back at the parking lot where we started.
What a satisfying Sunday walk!
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