Searching for a winter orchid

Started the day with a great breakfast. Then thinking about identifying plants and birds.

A friend post this on Face Book, I thought that it might help with birds. But today we were heading off in search of plants.

One of our favorite spots to look at plants is Nan Weston. Tremendous diversity here.

There is a nice little patch of American hazel. But we’ve never been here when there are hazel nuts.

These are the leaves of Puttyroot, an orchid. The leaves photosynthesize in the winter, then die back when the plant blooms.

The leaves of Christmas fern and Hepatica are always nice to see on a cold winter day.

The streams were open and flowing, although ice covered in spots.

The wetland seemed pretty well frozen, but we were not going to test that out.

The Raisin River was mostly open and free of ice. The major patches of ice were close to some of the shores.

It’s always fun to find signs of beaver activity.

More tomorrow…