Kirk and I hiked at Bicentennial Woods this weekend. The day before we'd been to Huntington Reservoir to see the power spot again. It sure didn't look this green. Kirk took this picture years ago. We hiked about 3 miles along Rock Creek, but it was completely brown from the spring floodwaters. The water was high and running fast, but I was disappointed that I didn't see any wildflowers.
Kirk assured me that we'd see some at Bicentennial the next day. He was right as he usually is. We saw Sweet Cicely and tons of violets coming up. It was just below freezing when we arrived and I remember thinking, "This is great, no mud!"
We visited my tree on the Sassafrass trail and I took some more pictures of it. It took me awhile to find it.
There are some truly magnificent trees there. One massive tree had fallen across the trail and been cut to allow passage. We counted 120 rings in the trunk.
The walking bridge over the creek that the scouts built was half crushed and swept away. We crossed it anyways. It was a lot like going through a scary funhouse!
After 2 hours of hiking the temperature had gone up just enough to allow the mud to melt. We had to spend some time getting the mud off the boots before getting into the car. It's been a long time since I've been so happy to get muddy!
Today I found this amusing tidbit about Sweet Cicely at www.botanical.com. It makes me want to go back and gather some today.
The old herbalists describe the plant as 'so harmless you cannot use it amiss.' The roots were supposed to be not only excellent in a salad, but when boiled and eaten with oil and vinegar, to be 'very good for old people that are dull and without courage; it rejoiceth and comforteth the heart and increaseth their lust and strength.'
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