Spring Bling

I love spring in the Midwest! After a particularly dreary winter — too much rain and not enough snow — I’m more excited about this spring than usual. On top of that, there’s at least one good thing to come from the enforced closures, and that’s the extra time on my hands to enjoy it. There’s very little driving back and forth to work, reduced shopping, and no ferrying my kids across town for their activities, so I can spend more time in the woods and at the local nature preserve. This point of spring is especially magical, as it’s that time when it seems like every day there’s something new unfurling, flowering, or flying.

Cut-Leaved Toothwort

Another one with one of the first bees of the year.
Dutchman’s Breeches
Trout Lily
White Trout Lily
Purple Cress
And no trek in the woods behind my house would be the same without stinging nettle. It’s all over out there, but fortunately it doesn’t bother me as much as poison ivy. The leaves are edible, and you can dry them and use them for tea. I haven’t eaten them, but nettle tea isn’t bad. BTW, witch hazel is great for taking the sting away quickly. When my kids were little and didn’t know what nettle looks like to avoid it, I’d carry some in a little bottle along with cotton balls.

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