It’s been awhile, but the weather is weird and the world is weird, so have some flowers.

I am low-key obsessed with trout lilies (Erythronium americanum)

They’re fascinating, ephemeral plants.

And old. Zack Fowler says the colony at the arboretum is several hundred years old.

Wood Anemone (Anemonoides quinquefolia) which I wish had another common name, since I always stumble over Anemone.

Spring Beauties! (Claytonia caroliniana)

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

These covered some of the hills we drove by, so I had to stop to verify they were bloodroot. We also saw lots of white trillium along the roadside, but none were anywhere safe to stop.

This picture looks boring and empty, but that greenery covering the forest floor?

Ramps!

Autumn is over in most regions in WV. In fact, I was startled to find so much color in Morgan county.

I adore the watching the springs bubble.

The color at Cacapon was amazing–so much brighter than I expected.

One day we’ll do the full hike over the mountain at the Paw Paw Tunnel. But Saturday was not that day. Was gorgeous from the top though.

Shockingly the panoramic view along Rt 9 wasn’t busy.

Everyone else’s loss.

Because it really as a perfect day to enjoy the wood and forest.

Friday I led a work hike up Ravens Rock trail.

We started the hike at nine, so there was still a little fog when we reached the rocks.

It was a perfect morning for a hike.

Saturday we decided to take a scenic drive with occasional stops to hike.

Our first stop was Seneca Rocks. From the visitor center we could see how busy things were upon the rocks, so we walked around a bit and then headed off to our next destination.

We hit the Blackwater River trail at Canaan Valley much later than normal, so the light was different.

Not at all bad, but the things I normally look at were in the shade.

I was pleased to be able to see things I don’t normally.

It had been several years since we’d been to Freeland Boardwalk. The entire thing has been completely replaced and rerouted in areas.

Last we went to the Beall’s Trails area in Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge.

Just a short hike, but gorgeous, even though most trees were past peak.

I ended up flipping through my hiking books to find a trail near where we were going to be Saturday, which is how we ended up at the Shavers Fork Area, which is (I’m pretty sure) part of the Cheat River WMA.

Aside from our GPS disagreeing with the map, we found our way there and hiked the Crouch Ridge Trail.

It was lovely. We saw no other humans, the leaves were turning, and we there was even a tiny bit of snow falling from the sky!

I really do like hiking Otter Creek. I almost always find solitude there, and the entire hike is beside the creek, which is one of my favorite sounds.

I’ll be honest–all these pictures are simply ones I liked, rather than ones that show the landscape. These stills reflect how being there makes me feel.

It was a lovely day.

Canaan Valley State Park

Blackwater River Trail, Canaan Valley State Park

Table Rock, Canaan Mountain Backcountry

The forecast was rain, but there was a night, home game, so we settled on a series of short hikes to waterfalls.

Douglas Falls is just outside of Thomas, and although the Blackwater Canyon trail is easy, there is a scramble down to the waterfall.

My favorite spot is along the top of the old (and crumbling) retaining wall, and down past the falls a bit.

Then we headed to Blackwater Falls to hike along the Falls of Pendleton.

This hike is not an easy one.

But the views were lovely.

Sadly, as much as I enjoyed sitting there watching the falls, my pictures don’t really show just how amazing the views were.

On the other hand, the weather meant we didn’t see anyone anyone else, which is always a plus.

I’ve been (for quite awhile now) failing at posting about recent hikes.

So here are some pictures from the past month or so.

When I said that Maine seemed to have a thing about Rhododendrons, I wasn’t kidding. This was an entire garden dedicated to them.

Asticou Azalea Garden

This is actually a common wild Rhododendron, which I had never seen before.

This counts as a tree frog, right?

Although I uploaded a ton of pictures to iNaturalist, trying ID the various flowers, trees, and shrubs, I also saw a variety of more mobile creatures. (And also uploaded them to iNaturalist)

I mean, look how adorable!!!!

Long-claw Hermit Crab Pagurus longicarpus

Common Eider Somateria mollissima

Black Guillemot Cepphus grylle

Harbor Seal Phoca vitulina

Common Loon Gavia immer (with chicks!)

Green Frog Lithobates clamitans (hiding in a tamarack)

American Bullfrog Lithobates catesbeianus

Once again I was desperately wishing for a good zoom lens when I was trying t get good pictures of these creatures whose details I couldn’t make out with the naked eye. But I don’t think I did too bad with what I had.

These were taken at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens at the end of May.

I’ve not seen a red bleeding heart around here!

Rhododendron was surprisingly popular in Maine.

They had a fairy garden section, which was cute.

But mostly I just liked the rocks.