Another Fall Walk

Our trees are at peak foliage now, or maybe just a little past it, and it's hard to resist the temptation to spend a couple of hours each day just wandering around the woods! 

With all these leaves on the ground, I'm a little surprised there are still any on the trees! It almost looks like the ground has been strewn with rose petals, doesn't it?

Moose tracks are a common sight...

We have several patches of Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara). One of the folk names for this plant is "Son-before-the-Father", because the flowers bloom and set seed very early in the Spring, before the leaves emerge. I can hardly wait to see it in bloom next year! 

My most exciting find this week (in my opinion anyway!) was this Arctic Sweet Coltsfoot (Petasites frigidus var. palmatus)​​.  It, too, has beautiful blossoms in Spring which I will be on the lookout for! 

I was surprised by a few lonely Pearly Everlastings in a small clearing...

I think this is Creeping Snowberry (Gaultheria hispidula), but please correct me if I'm wrong! The odd thing is that I've never seen any flowers or berries all summer. But then I'm noticing a lot of new plants now that many of the bigger plants have lost their leaves or died back, so maybe this was just in hiding? Or maybe I wasn't as observant as I thought I was! LOL

I think my favorite spot in the woods is the hill where I found all the Pink Lady's Slippers this summer. I've decided to call it Cypripedium Hill! 😁

And this is my favorite area on Cypriperdium Hill! It's hard to see in the picture, but it almost looks like someone had made a path through here at some point. 

Looking back up the "path"...

I have no idea what this little plant is, but I think it's pretty! 

An unknown shrub...

I love how these Club Mosses look like little trees!

My pictures don't do this old Cedar stump justice--it is huge! 

This uprooted tree was fascinating! I'm amazed it survived as long as it did, growing on top of that rock!

A patch of Whorled Wood Aster (Oclemena acuminata)...

Self-Heal or Heart-of-the-Earth (Prunella vugaris) ...

Oh, and this isn't in the woods, but I wanted to show you this interesting plant. I've been seeing it growing along the roadsides and even at the edge of our lawn for awhile now and just recently found out that it is called Red Bartsia (Odontites vulgaris), and it is partially parasitic on the roots of some grasses! Mrs. Grieve says it hasn't much to recommend it in appearance, but I'm inclined to disagree with her for once! 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little trek! Now I meant to make this a complete surprise but I can't keep a secret--I'm leaving early tomorrow morning on a quick day trip and hope to return with more pictures and new discoveries to share!  😊

In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying these beautiful Fall days too!