Get thee to a woodland --- soon!

The spring woodlands blog header is back this morning because it's that time of year --- rue-anemone and dutchman's breeches are carpeting the floor of established timber.

I got off to a late start on the Red Haw trail yesterday, headed for one of my favorite lazy-person's spots to view these springtime wonders --- the wooded bluff at the intersection of the southeast and southwest lake inlets. 

The flowering undergrowth --- redbuds, red haw and more --- is in full bud, but hasn't quite burst into bloom --- you can see a faint redbud haze in the background of the first photo here.

The uphill procession of rue-anemones began just where the trail starts to climb as it heads up and over to the southeast; more and more dutchman's breeches began to appear as I climbed higher, marching off into the woods to the left and right, downhill to the lake and uphill to the point's highest ground.

I'm guessing wildflowers are found here in abundance --- and more varieties will bloom before long --- because, as aerial maps taken in the 1930s show, this point was wooded even then. And much of Red Haw wasn't back in the 1930s, when Civilian Conservation Corps workers arrived to develop it.

Before the dam was built and the small valley flooded, this wildflower point would have marked the intersection of two tributaries of the Little Whitebreast watershed.

Also spotted Tuesday evening along the trail --- turkey-tail fungi engaged in leisurely breaking down a fallen limb and returning it to dust. I'm told these aren't harmful to humans, but their leather-like consistency doesn't encourage consumption.

The morels will be along before long ,,,,