Strolling Through Our Woods

After church on Mother's Day we took a nice walk around our property.  It was a rather cool afternoon, with a threat of rain and temperatures in just the upper 50s.  We had a very enjoyable little hike, even though we had to wear jackets!

 

These pretty flowers are spiderwort from Mackey Bend, Lisa's homeplace growing up.  Lisa has two big bunches here in the wild garden.  She has several other plants and flowers from her home that reminds her of her mother, but these were the one's blooming when we took the walk.

These gladolia's are from the Mary Castle homestead across the river.  Before she passed away, the new bridge came through and took away all her garden space where they were planted.  She was happy that we were able to re-locate them , along with some of her other plants and flowers, before the bull dozers came through.

  

 

Lisa calls these dewberries.  They are a type of black berry that runs right along the ground.  The berries are among the first to ripen, and are super sweet.  They are better than blackberries or even raspberries!

We have three different varieties of wood sorrel.  I think those above are called violet wood sorrel, due to the purple markings.  The flower also has a violet tint to it.  It is a tasty sour treat on a hike through the woods and helps to quench thirst.

This is yellow wood sorrel.  It does not have the purple markings but tastes the same as the violet sorrel.  There is common wood sorrel that we didn't find on this hike.  We also have several good patches of sheep sorrel around, but we didn't go to them on this walk either.  All the sorrel are high in Vitamin C, good to nibble on, and are good as a tea or to use in salads.  They also contain oxalic acid which is ok, but can be bad for folks suffering from gout, rheumatism, or kidney stones if they consume too much of it at one time. Historically, wood sorrel was used to treat scurvy, fevers, urinary infections, mouth sores, nausea and sore throats.

The above plant is one that Lisa wants to look up.  She thinks it might be Angelica or New Jersey Tea.  We haven't identified it yet.  Looking for and finding plants that she does not know is one of Lisa's favorite things to do!

 I just thought this was a pretty picture looking out across the ravine.

We are very thankful that we have a nice wooded area that we can roam around and explore whenever we feel like it!  Nature is a wonderful place to spend some time!