Last year, two weeks ago this time, I paid a visit to the Limestone Rise Preserve, west of Altamont on NY-146 in the town of Knox. On that trip, I saw the most profuse blooms of hepatica I had ever seen in one place. It was almost impossible to walk without stepping on them. So today, I decided it was time for a return visit. This has been a very different spring season from last year, but I though by now, after a few days of sunny warm weather, things might be catching up. But whether because of today's brisk cool winds, or because I'm still rushing this late spring, it was not to be. There were indeed hepatica all over the place, but they were almost all still closed up. And not even a single spring beauty had sprouted yet to keep them company.
Since I was out anyway, I decided to try another preserve at a lower elevation, where the snow melted earlier, temps may have been a little warmer, and it might be farther along. At the Moccasin Kill Sanctuary, in Rotterdam, I saw not a single wildflower, somewhat surprising, but I guess it shouldn't be based on what I'd seen everywhere else so far.
On the way home, I took an impulse detour for a quick stop at the Mohawk River State Park in Niskayuna. There's a large patch of trout lilies here that might also be in bloom by now. Or so I hoped. But I found a similar situation here, mostly just their speckled leaves and a very few blooms. And those were also still closed up, either against the cold or against the calendar.
With another week of warm days, I think that we'll be seeing things really explode, because they're very close now. I guess I just need to be more patient.
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