In the Pink

Pink Flowers

Pink Flowers

I’m in the pink, though after this week-end, I may be in the red! Taking a break from the computer while I take a trip to the East Coast and celebrate my oldest child’s graduation from law school. And that’s not even the best news. She has a great job lined up for after she sits for the bar.

I’m taking a blog break. Be back on June 5th or 6th, and hope to have a photographs from a part of the country I’ve never photographed – NYC!

Wild Onion

purple beauty

purple beauty

Wandering through the gardens at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, and I saw this patch of allium, or wild onion. Pretty stuff, this flowering plant called wild onion.

Forest Fern

55. Closely Cropped

Detail of a Fern

On a hike yesterday in the woods at Owen Park in Madison, I came across a field of ferns in the woods. I love the delicacy of these plants. And green–so nice to see a sea of green again!

Celebrating 21!

Happy Birthday, Daughter

Birthday wishes!

To my daughter:

Sending big wishes and a day filled with fun,
today is the day you turn twenty-one!!!

Happy birthday to my daughter, my youngest, the last one to cross over to official adulthood. This calls for a day of celebration, starting with a day at the stadium watching the Brewers play baseball and ending with a party on State Street! Enjoy!

Prairie Trillium

Trillium at UW Arboretum

Trillium at UW Arboretum

In all my years of tramping through Wisconsin’s forests, this is the first set of prairie trillium I have seen. I could not find this particular species of trillium in any ID book, except for the local book Spring Woodland Wildflowers of the University of Wisconsin Madison Arboretum by Andrew L. Hipp. A rather thin book, with a narrow focus, but of great value when checking out the lesser known flowers in this particular arboretum.

The prairie trillium, also called the red trillium (trillium recurvatum). Most often found in forests, but can be seen in savannas and prairies. This trillium was found in the Arboretum, though Madison is at its extreme northern limit. Also seen in southern and southeastern Wisconsin. It is on Wisconsin’s list for species of special concern.

A Species of Concern in Wisconsin

A Species of Concern in Wisconsin

Here is a photo of the entire plant. Gives a better perspective. I found a group of seven plants all huddled together, but none anywhere else in the woods.

Not to be confused with the purple trillium (trillium erectum) which grows in nearby Illinois, but not in Wisconsin. It is distinguished from prairie trillium by its flowers which are stalked and nodding. It also has leaves which do not bend backwards like the prairie trillium, but are held erect.