FLOWERS OF SPRING EMERGE in the woods. Among layers of dried leaves. Among fallen limbs. Sometimes blanketing hillsides.
Saturday morning, as Randy and I hiked through Kaplan’s Woods Park in Owatonna, I found myself searching the edges of the wood chip covered trails for wildflowers.
This time of year, especially, I crave flowers. They represent the shifting of seasons, of plant life erupting as the landscape transforms.
Green begins to fill the woods, accented by bursts of violet and yellow and white hugging the earth. Low to the ground, easily missed if you focus only on the trail ahead.
We have walked Kaplan’s only a few times and this visit I noticed the low water level of the creek that winds through the woods.
I noticed also the noise of traffic from nearby Interstate 35. Motorists en route somewhere on an incredibly warm and sunny morning in southern Minnesota. I hope that at some point they paused to appreciate the day. The sun. The trees. Maybe even the wildflowers. And the brush strokes of green tinting the landscape.
© Copyright 2021 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
I just Love Spring! Lovely photos, Audrey.
Thank you, Penny. Spring definitely rates as a lovely time of year.
We are loving this time of year seeing what pops out the of ground, especially in the wooded area behind our house. I spent quite a bit of time pulling garlic mustard this past weekend. There are jack in the pulpit back there, so that’s always fun to see. Looks like you have bloodroot and hispid buttercup in those photos.
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/bloodroot
https://www.minnesotawildflowers.info/flower/hispid-buttercup
-Jocelyn
Thank you for identifying some of those flowers I photographed. I really need a wildflower book. Or to use Google.
Fun to view your photos of Minnesota spring!
Thank you, Juli. Glad you enjoyed this snippet of spring in Minnesota.
There’s a TC Perennial Exchange private group on FB that I just marvel at what people know about all these beautiful flowers many varieties growing wild in fields and wherever they want. I’m an “appreciator” of all God’s small gifts, especially in Spring. Certainly understand why you seek out so many of the parks…enjoy!
I like that: “God’s small gifts.”
Love all those wild flowers, wasn’t Saturday just about perfect! So sunny and warm.
It was an absolutely perfect spring day.
If you have a phone with app capabilities you could download plant.net a plant id app. Very helpful when in the field.
Thank you for that suggestion. Typically, though, I try not to use my phone when I’m hiking.
Glad someone identified the flowers for you. One photo is the White Trout Lily…the leaves look like trout. 😉
That would be my niece. Yup, I identified the White Trout Lily. Now I need to find the Dwarf Trout Lily.