OUR wilderness...a tale of a wild plum chase...

PLUMS:

I will start with the end of the walk, so those of you anticipating plum canning season can relax. At the end of our walk we passed two areas full of wild plum trees. I took many photos of flowers in the early spring and noticed a goodly number of pollinators. I was excited at the idea of attempting wild plum jam...until today.

Searching in the first grouping of trees I was disappointed to find only one tiny plum. These babies are small. The shiny smooth green plum was about the size of a pistachio nut (with shell). My initial thought was "it's gonna take a lot of these plums to make any jam."  I checked tree after tree with no luck finding any other plums in that section.

I did find more (about 10) plums in the next group of trees (these are young - really small shrubs/saplings). But 10 tiny plums will not be enough. I realized that the chance of any plum harvest was slim - the deer and hogs will beat us to the fruit, and rightly so. Still, I am glad to see them and will share photos if we see any on our next visit (and if I remember to bring an extra camera battery).*

POISON IVY:

I do not pay much attention to poison ivy. I am the lucky child in the family who had wallowed in the stuff ** and had no reaction. I do notice it, if it is directly in my path so that I can warn the unlucky family members (most of the rest of my immediate and extended family).  Today it appeared in our path. Actually, it is growing all over the entrance to the wildlife area. I don't know if it is growing anywhere else in this wilderness as it would be located (most probably) in among the brambles where we don't go. I grabbed the dogs, holding them away from the vines, and suggested that DH "touch nothing" as he entered through the gate.

Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to come with us on a walk.

LOST and FOUND:

We tried to take our normal route, but the vegetation is growing so fast that it was hard to see the deer trails on large stretches of the meadow. Thus we ended up in high bluebonnets. Really. We found ourselves in knee-high flowers that released their sweet scent as we brushed through.

Bluebonnets in a small clearing.

Bluebonnets in the trees that grew up along an old fence line. Almost lost Scruffy in these.

We were in knee high bluebonnets and DH went ahead to watch for snakes.

The grasses and other flowers are rapidly overtaking the bluebonnets as they fade and go to seed. There are now two types of dandelions blooming. The thistles promise a good show this year. In one spot I took a shadow portrait - symbolic of my childhood experiences falling into the stinging nettles and scratching thorns of whatever was out there. These days we are somewhat safe if we can stick to the animal trails. While they do take us over some rough spots and under some thorny vines, most of the time they are the best paths across the meadows and through the woods.

I have never watched the yuccas bloom - step by step.

We are getting close.

Two kinds of stinging nettles and thorny dewberry vines. If I was 8, I would have fallen in them. This is as close as I want to get.

Sharp, but beautiful!

Look at that sweet boy!

We called the dogs back a few times when they were too far ahead.

Humor me. I love dogs running - their ears flapping!

The prairie with the woods beyond. This is an "enhanced" photo as the early morning sun washes out the color.

Isn't this a lovely thing? I am still looking it up.

The feathery leaves we saw coming up everywhere?

Meet the Prairie Bishop's-Weed - in one book it was in a grouping with wild carrot and the Hemlocks! DH expressed some concern. I explained I did not forage for our food.

We found our trail along the old fence line that leads to the creek. Buttercups bloomed all along the way. Following the dogs over a rise and down to the creek, we noted that the water is down and green scum has started rising to the surface. All along the bank speargrass*** - shining silver-green in the morning light - nodded towards the creek.

Our bluebonnet clearing in the woods is starting to fade. We may have one more good visit before seed pods are all that remain of this year's bounty. Here too other plants are taking over the area. We traced our path back to the prairie and followed the low spot that marks the trail along the woods. Texas Yellow Stars continue to brighten that part of the trail with Sweet William/wild verbena and scatterings of single bluebonnet plants.

And finally, the feathery leaves we have noticed on earlier trips have disclosed their identity. I brought an example home and it helped in the identification. I knew they weren't Queen Anne's Lace. But when I starting looking up "wild carrots" (they have that carrot tap-root) we read that they could be wild carrots or Poison Hemlock! (Yikes!) But it is the foliage that gives it away. They are Prairie (could have told you that) Bishop's-Weed. I wonder if all of these are cousins. I will continue consulting the wildflower resources.****

NOTES:

*I checked the camera before we left. It appeared the battery was well charged. Unfortunately, cheaper batteries lie.

**Years ago during a Girl Scout "emergency training" exercise, I pulled my "traffic accident victim," my older sister, out of the car and into a patch of poison ivy. My foot slipped and I ended up under her at first. I struggled to get up (she was "unconscious" remember?). I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. She was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt. As I remember, I turned my head and saw the poison ivy and explained to my victim that she needed to suspend the exercise for a minute and move as we were not in a good spot. She ended up with a case of poison ivy to end all cases. I got nothing. I have relied upon this proof that I am not impacted by the weed. So far, so good. It's been over 40 years so I think I can be somewhat confident.

***http://uvalde.tamu.edu/herbarium/grasses-commom-index/texas-needlegrass/
Oh for a sibling when the speargrass is in season!

****In this case the wildflower books won. I used Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi and confirmed with Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country by Marshall Enquist.