On April 14th Joan and I drove south to the Highlands Nature Sanctuary, part of the Arc of Appalachia, to attend the first evening meeting of the 2022 Wildflower Pilgrimage. There Nancy Stranahan, director of the Arc, gave a presentation on why we would have a wonderful time over the next two days regardless of which hikes we'd signed up for. One aspect I hadn't fully appreciated till now was that in Ohio, the areas with limestone and karst formations at the surface are rare, and many of these are in the two-county area where our hikes would take place. In this image, the zones of interest are in red, and we're in the southern Ohio cluster.
On the next day, Friday, Joan and I drove to the meeting spot for the Otter Banks hike. Otter Banks features limestone bluffs along the Rocky Fork Creek and the flora particular to that environment. From the meeting spot, we boarded a van to drive us to the Mennonite farm adjacent to the bluffs. Otter Banks was secured by the Arc when a much larger property came up for sale, and a deal was reached whereby Mennonite families would acquire the arable land, and the unfarmable river bluffs would become a new Arc preserve. A very eager dog from the farm, barely out of puppyhood, joined us as we set off.
The route for a future trail was marked by occasional pink tape dangling from trees, and the footing, kept damp with water runoff from the bluffs, was occasionally treacherous, especially at side drainages, but our leaders kept us under control (except the dog). The purpose of the hike was to examine the flora growing on or near the limestone/dolomite bluffs. Many of our hikers were more knowledgeable than I am, but the leader of the hike was the naturalist Jenny Richards, who works at Shawnee State Park.
Here, a cluster of Dutchman's breeches.
Dutchman's and an occasional trillium.
A blooming wild ginger. Don't forget to click on the image to enlarge.
Trillum. Lovely!
Starting to see some trout lilies.
Consulting the handbook.
Those in the lead spotted a wren bursting out of the bluffs. We all admired its nesting skills, snug in the stone!
Differing vegetation "cheek by jowl" on the vertical surfaces.
The tiny blooms of miterwort.
A mystery flower ... if only it were a few days further along. If you have an idea what it might be, leave a comment!
A cliffside garden:
Blooming bloodroot.
Shooting star ("pride of ohio"), not blooming yet.
Sullivantia, a tiny cliffside rarity first discovered in Ohio by William S. Sullivant (or possibly his second wife, Eliza, but Bill got the credit).
Yellow corydalis starting to come out.
More trout lily. Love the speckled foliage!
A ragwort. There are dozens of ragwort species in Ohio, and I don't know which one this is.
Bluff face and tumbled timber.
Tiers of flowers on any spot more horizontal than vertical.
No flowers here, but a view from the bottom of a natural bridge, with a tenuous mini-bridge connecting it to the mainland. Water always wins, it just takes time.
Had enough of trout lilies? Just one more, a horizontal one.
After a long meander, we descended to the narrow stretch of flat to rolling terrain next to the stream for our return. A phalanx of turtles were out sunning on the opposite bank. Then it was time to climb back up to the farm and our van.
We had a decision to make once taken back to our individual vehicles. A short distance away, not far from the Paint Creek dam, there's a short (0.5 mile) nature walk, and our naturalist Jenny would lead a group if any of us wanted to check it out. Most of us still had enough energy left for a short (distance) walk.
Almost immediately we spotted a heron in the creek. Good luck with the fishing!
It may have been only a demi-mile, but there was plenty of growth on the forest floor to inspect; the walk took at least an hour. Passers-by would hear Jenny or one of our more adept hikers discussing identifications, and several joined our mob. I was suffering from photo fatigue (perhaps you are by now?) and have this one offering. Leeks were common, and invaded the top of this photo of wood poppies and blue phlox.
We had time to clean up back at the cabin, and have dinner (one of two shifts) at the Arc's Forest Museum before driving into Bainbridge, for the evening's presentation at the Paxton Theatre. There we were treated to Laura Hughes, Ohio naturalist, field ecologist, and videographer presenting Filmed Wildlife Encounters Like You’ve Never Experienced Them. Her camera traps have recorded videos of creatures from small invertebrates to larger Ohio mammals such as bobcats. Many of these videos have documented surprising behaviors that run counter to contemporary wisdom, including social interactions within bobcat family groups. Joan and I would have happily watched an extended version.
The next day, another hike!
