A Walk InThe State Park

I say that like there's only one.  If we're talking within ten miles, that's correct. It's along the St. Croix River just north of Taylors Falls. I drive past/through it every time I head to Wisconsin. Now that we're permanently here, and the trilliums are in bloom and visible with a tiny bit of risk from the highway while driving, I decided to get the annual car sticker for the car. I've been passing those triliums for years and never stopped with a camera. The road is too fast. There's no shoulder. It's too far to walk from safe parking. I didn't know yet that there was a tunnel from inside the park under the highway to a very walkable path where they grow in a huge patch.

It's not a sitable path, not level because it's the river bluff, but it's doable. If it were sitable... OK, scratch that. If I were still somebody who could sit on the earth and get up again without an assist, there would have been a whole lot more pictures taken, especially for the surprise at the end. But I was relegated to shooting downward, or bending over and holding the camera where I thought it was pointing to the right place - it wasn't:  the the important part was cut out - there would be better pictures.  But following is what it was, this afternoon, as good as I could do.

First there were a ton of violets along the ground.

Then the usual supply of fallen, mossy logs gently rotting away to renew the soil.

The opening to the tunnel has a small stream running through it, of course, because of the bluff. Low flow and minimal breeze lent themselves to perfect reflections of sky and canopy.

Then trilliums,

                                        and trilliums,

And trilliums, smothering the hillside, the path climbing up through the middle. Or perhaps I should say  one of the paths, as there was a split. One could choose to turn to the side for the gentle climb through trilliums, or a steeper climb up to ... well, I can't say to what except for seeing a wooden bridge because I didn't take it.

It had been a long day on my feet, since back home Paul and I were working on the south garden bed. There were still weeds to be pulled, plants to be sorted and organized, with holes to be dug so lilies which had finally sprouted cold be planted to replace those the squirrels had eaten last fall or the bunnies munched down to nubs this spring, then watered, then mulched, and watered once again once I finish this. Just say I was really footsore, especially after taking 64 shots of the trilliums. 

I know, right?

As I turned to head home I almost missed the surprise, back near where the path rejoined when I retraced my path heading downhill.

It started out looking fairly ordinary. I'd been looking at three leaf plants for a while now. I could easily have walked right past. Something stopped me. Kind of like a tickle in the brain.

Immediately adjacent were more of the same, except what had almost been hiding was more pronounced. Jack in the pulpits!!! Or was this duo Jacks in the pulpit? This pair was fun because they were touching each other but facing opposite directions. One jack barely shows, there if you know where to look. I tried one more time to get something showing the Jack more plainly.

Instead I got this. I apologize for the blur, but the fat fuzzy thing under the dark striped curl of leaf, a bit lighter then the darkest green and darker than the lightest green, is the Jack sticking up. Once I got home to get a large view, part of me wanted to  go back. but my feet were defiant.  I may try again tomorrow. 

Or not.

I'll have to ask my feet. Maybe 64 tries with them will get me a few good shots.