Purple Woods CA May 6th, 2015

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. "         
                                        - Aristotle

May is the month in our area to see many of the spring ephemerals. They come & go quickly. I try to get out more often in May. Today the woods were full of Trilliums & Trout Lilies, with a fair number of Mayapples and a sprinkling of Bloodroot and a few others.

I think they chose well when the Trillium was chosen as our provincial flower. It's always good to see a few, but when a hillside or slope is covered in them, I think almost everyone stops for a lingering look.

Purple Woods is the closest maple syrup production area to Oshawa. Though the sugar shack is closed, the blue lines used to collect the sap are still strung through the woods. 

Why is it called Purple Woods?

Every year I take more pictures of the Trilliums... always hoping for something a little different than I've captured before. It's a rite of spring that I can't resist.

From the web:
"While it is a popular belief that it is illegal to pick the common Trillium grandiflorum (white trillium) in Ontario, it is actually only protected in provincial parks and on land owned by conservation authorities."

From seed to blossom takes a minimum of 7 years.

They're a favourite food of deer.

Purple Woods has a good number of Red Trilliums. Because there are so few of them compared to the white ones, they stand out.

They're much shier than the white ones. Most won't look at the camera, preferring to face the ground instead.

But as with people, some are less shy than others, and will show you their faces.

A bright sunny day is great for us humans but it doesn't make for good wildflower photography. I've pretty much given up on carrying a diffuser disk—sorry Gerry. :-) It sits in the trunk of my car, just in case I decide to ever take it out again. The results today would've been better if I had. But I'm less patient than I used to be, so I think it'll be sitting in the trunk for a long time yet.

Other common names for the Red Trillium are American True-Love, Birthroot, Bumblebee Root, Ill-scented Wake-robin, Indian Shamrock, Purple Trillium, Stinking Benjamin, Stinking Willie, Threeleaf Nightshade, Wake-robin... some cute names.

A woodpecker favourite.

Trout Lilies have an unusual blossom... looks like they're diving to the forest floor to me at this stage in their growth.

The petals curl back eventually.

There were a few Bloodroot in the woods, scattered about singly or in small bunches.

The sap lines can get a bit complicated in spots.

Bellwort

The sugar shack is closed for the season, awaiting next spring.

It surprises me how quickly the memory of a brutal winter slips into my long-term memory. A week or two of warm spring weather and the welcome rebirth of the spring wildflowers makes me appreciate once again, that I'm living in an area where I can so easily drive a short distance and revel in the reawakening of the land. 

Most of the nature areas I go to are close to the city but most often I'm alone in them, as I was today, able to soak it all in, undisturbed. Nature is good for the soul.

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