ON Saturday, April 4, we took a trip to Clifton Gorge. This is becoming one of our favorite spots in Ohio. If you have never been there, here is a LINK to the ODNR page. We had learned from the ODNR Bloom Report that Snow Trillium was in bloom there, and since we have been wanting to see it in bloom, we took off. The first wildflower we saw there was the Sharp Lobed Hepatica. The leaves have sharp points on them, but otherwise they are the same as the Round Lobed Hepatica we see in Lucas county.
A slight hill with water nearby is where I usually see Hepatica,which describes the lower trail at Clifton Gorge. Hepatica was everywhere and in all colors (white, light blue, dark blue, etc.)
We also found some Harbinger of Spring (Pepper and Salt) there, another new observation for us.
We were starting to get worried that we might not find any Snow Trillium, but then we about 2/3 of the way through the lower trail we started seeing them.
It had rained recently, so the waterfalls which are dry in the summer were putting on a show.
We also found Purple Cress and some early Dutchmans Breeches
On the way up the hill we saw this blue flower, and had to ask at the Nature Center for some help in identifying it. It is an early Virginia Blue Bell. The flowers have a ways to go to open up, but was still a nice find.
ON our drive back, we were going by Cedar Bog (that is really a fen), so we stopped in. We saw lots of skunk cabbage, a few round lobed Hepatic, and some Marsh Marigold just starting to bloom.
All in all, a very nice spring excursion.