Skunk Cabbage Reach of the Campbell Spring

4 specimens of Lysichiton americanus

There is a big rock at 5 Corners where Pilling's Road intersects with the Pilling/CPR Road that connects with Bernie.  From that point to where the water runs under the road that leads to the beach, there is the loveliest stretch of moist new growth, a reach that I have been visiting a number of times a day lately.

Doral first pointed out this stretch to me when Rebecca and Trell were small.  We used to take hikes up in there, and at one time had named it the snail trail for there were so many small snail shells that we could pick up.

"Skunk Cabagge" or "Swamp Lantern"

The water is so clear right now, that it is hard to tell the difference between where the stream is running and where the banks of it begin.

Right now, just one shot of the camera can catch three or four of these plants in any part of the wet woods.

The leaves are not a foot high yet, and the distinctive odor of the flower and leaves is still attracting the scavenging flies and beetles.

I began to pick up the deadfall on the ground and carry it out of the woods to the burn pile.

The next trip there was with David and he learned how to step onto on j-shaped log that is firmly planted in the middle of the stream and stream and swing back and forth on it.

I come out of that area with wet knees for I am kneeling down, trying to capture the new moss that is growing, or seeing if I can get the light just right on one of the drops of dew that hangs onto the new False Solomon's Seal that is just beginning to grow there.

I went to brush some moss from a large rock, but it was so perfectly formed there, that I put the moss back and stayed on my feet -- why should I sit for a few seconds when that moss has been growing there for years.

Asarum caudatum or Wild Ginger

I am not so earthy that I want to dig up the roots of the ginger to test if it really does give a peppery taste to food, nor do I want to dry the leaves for a tea substitute.

Still, I pick one or two of the leaves and smell them again, as though I am testing to see if they have the same fragrance that they did the day before.

fiddleheads

The fiddleheads are just right to eat. I am going to gather a few of them and steam them for supper one night.

What a surprise that will be for everyone.

Arta