Mid August and we are starting to move into the best part of the year for observing a great variety of fungi. Some of the highlights from a recent hike in the Indiana Dunes State Park along trail #2. I consider this to be the best trail in the state park, though it does not get much attention since it does not take you to the beach. It does however run all along the perimeter of, and across a very nice swamp.
Click on an image to view it full size.
The greenery and wild flowers come a little late to this part of the midwest, along the southern shore of Lake Michigan. Even in late April we frequently see temperatures in the 50’s when just a few miles further away from the big body of 40 degree water the temperatures are in the 70’s and even 80’s. As a result the first wild flowers tend to appear weeks later than the surrounding area. We have had some warmer weather and rain the last week so I was expecting to see the first signs of flowering when I went out this weekend. Trail #2 at the Indiana Dunes State Park did not disappoint. Over the next two weeks this area is going to explode with flowers and greenery.
The isolated little spots of blue bracketing a single blade of grass contrasts nicely with the fading colors of fallen leaves.
Eastern Spring Beauties. Always a welcome sight this time of year.
The highly saturated, deep yellow of these March Marigolds are challenging to capture in a photo. Especially in the bright sun they have a strong tendency to overexpose and lose all sense of detail. To bring out some of the detail and shading in the yellow flowers I deliberately underexposed this image when I took it.
Every now and then it is nice to get down low to get a sense of perspective on things.
The subtle bluish – purple hues on these flowers are amazing.
Do you see what I see? Click on the image to see it full size and look carefully at the base of the fungus, a little down and left of the center of the image. It’s watching you….
These beauties made my heart skip a beat when I saw them.
Halfway through the trail we came across a nice patch of Trout Lily.
So much blue this time of year.
More March Marigolds. In places the swamp looked covered in yellow.
Super intense shade of blue.
Not everything new in spring is a flower.