What a Difference a Week Makes - May 6

The golden saxifrage is still blooming its heart out in the seeps, and now so are painted trillium, goldthread, sessile bellwort, and skunk currant: 




The really exciting find of the trip though was leatherleaf! I hadn't seen it since 2019 and feared it was gone, but it was just an oversight - it was exactly where I left it :) 

I also found a very cool 4-leaved trillium mutation - normally it has only 3. 

Coming soon are the orchids! The yellow coralroot is poking up and starting to bud, and the greater purple fringed is coming along: 


The vernal pool near the brook had spotted salamander egg masses! One of these years I'm going to catch a big night migration, but not this year apparently: 

And check out this cute buddy! The red eft juvenile stage of the eastern newt:

Happy spring!

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Note: this post was written long after the fact on Jan 12, 2024, but I've backdated it to the day of the visit so as to preserve the flow of the blog posts.