Wild ginger (Asarum canadense) is an interesting plant found in rich, moist, forested areas in deep hollows and drains. East and north facing lower slopes are its favored habitat, where it can be widespread.

Ginger has a stem (called a rhizome) that grows low along the ground with pairs of heart shaped leaves sticking up through the leaf litter. The leaf stems are very hairy, and if you scratch around under the leaves from April to May you will find a brownish purple flower with three petals. If you break off a piece of the rhizome you will get a strong smell of ginger.

Since I’m in the woods a lot it’s reasonable to assume that I would have more ticks get on board and use me as a meal. But the past couple of winters I have pulled ticks off every month of the year, including the winter months when they are normally dormant. That’s not right people! All of my bites have been deer tick, smaller and harder to see and feel crawling around. Now that your family is outside more with the warming weather, best start body checking yourself and the kids. Since it’s good to know your enemy, here is a rundown on the tick lifestyle.

One of the most beautiful wildflowers to see in the Spring are trilliums, which are members of the Lily family. They are easy to find this time of year in rich, moist woods along rivers, streams, and in deep hollows. There are several species growing in our area, and all are easy to identify. The average trillium is 12 to 18 inches tall with a stout, erect stem. At the top is a whorl of 3 broad leaves and a single flower with 3 petals. Most trilliums have a flower supported by a stem just above the leaves (botanists call this pedicellate). But sessile trillium, also known as toadshade, (Trillium sessile) has no flower stem and the 3 petals appear to come directly out of the leaves. The sessile trilliums I have found locally have yellow petals, but some are dark red. The leaves of sessile trilliums have whitish splotches.

You have no doubt noticed all the white flowering trees that have been putting on a show the past couple of weeks along roadsides, fence rows, and field edges. They are Bradford pears, a popular landscape tree, noted for their beautiful flower blitz, symmetrical round crowns, and supposedly sterile so as not to produce messy fruit to clean up. That last part was a total failure, and the tree has gone Frankenstein and spreading rapidly to become what is called an exotic invasive plant, and a threat to our native plants and even our farmlands. This wasn’t supposed to happen, so what the heck?

Ah Spring! After a cold winter, we get one of those sunny, balmy days where the temps get up into the 60s and everybody sheds coats and dreams of gardening or fishing. Then along comes a cold snap that feels colder than what it is because your body had immediately acclimated to that warmth and sunshine. Those cold snaps are regular events that have been around before TV meteorologists, and our forefathers had to watch nature to determine when to plant crops. So through the ages we have weather lore that is still with us today.

Human archaeology normally involves the study of things left by an ancient people in an ancient time, but it is also interesting to observe more recent signs that people lived in our area within the last 150 years or so. Many areas that appear to be natural untouched forests were actually greatly impacted by human presence. I find it intriguing to seek out visible clues and try to figure out what took place many years ago. Here are some indicators that humans impacted the landscape, particularly in a forest.

Anyone who has hiked and crossed a mountain stream or took a cold drink out of a spring has likely seen periwinkles, which look like small black pebbles scattered about in the water. Closer inspection reveals that they are freshwater snails. I’ve been told by my older kin that seeing these little guys in a stream indicated that the water was clean enough to drink. I wouldn’t go that far about the purity of the water, but they are partially right in that these snails are environmentally sensitive and good indicators of unpolluted streams.

Nothing says Springs-a-comin’ like seeing Daffodils spotting the countryside. They are of particular interest to me because I’m a mountain history nerd, and they often point to old cabin sites that I like to check out when I’m out exploring

Sycamore (Planatus occidentalis) is a very common tree in our area and easy to find growing along streams and lakes. It is also one of the easier trees to identify in the woods because all of its identifying features stand out.
The leaves of sycamore are large, and as broad as they are long, with a big-toothed edge. The leaf also has a fuzzy underside that can be a source of respiratory irritation. The fruit forms in the fall as a cluster of seeds forming a perfect brown ball about an inch or two in diameter, hanging from a long stem and persisting into winter.

Back in the day planting balled trees or trees grown in buckets was pretty straightforward: Dig a hole wider and deeper than the root ball, mix peat moss or other soil amendment with the soil and plant the tree. But some research has resulted in more stringent guidelines for urban trees. The new recommendations assure that roots have a chance to grow into the surrounding soil and produce healthy branches, foliage, and roots. Here’s an overview.