Flowers Large and Small

 
You should have known you can't escape the botany if you're hiking with me.

Largest herbaceous flowering plant we saw... cow parsnip, Heracleum maximum. This one looks a lot like the giant hogweed that is becoming such a problem.



I've seen both, and think I can tell the difference. Both have huge leaves and very large umbels of white flowers. But cow parsnip has stems that aren't spotted. They are less hairy, and the umbels are tighter. The hogweed flowers are more starburst like if that makes sense.



The smallest flower I pictured is one that always makes me smile. It's the tiny scarlet pimpernel, Anagallis arvensis. The flowers are barely a quarter inch across, and the color is stunning.



It usually grows in sparse groups, but here it was all clustered up and looking grand. Sadly, it's alien, so it shouldn't be on my "like" list. What can I say... it's pretty anyway. It grows in sandy soil, so I've seen it here at home before.



Both of these finds were growing along roads.

	See Western Reserve
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Western Reserve

 
One of the biggest surprises to me on this hike was how early this portion of Ohio was settled. I hadn't anticipated seeing MANY houses built before the Civil War. In fact, we saw dozens, probably over 100 houses built just after the War of 1812. Almost all were well cared for.

The Rider's Inn, in Painesville, Ohio was built in 1812. That's up near Lake Erie and settlement extended southward from the lake as ships were built there. They serve Sunday brunch, and we considered going back up there on our day off, but we were tired, it's an hour drive, and it was pouring rain. That treat will have to be held for another time.



But most of the settlement came after the Revolutionary War as land was granted to veterans. This strip was known as the Connecticut Western Reserve and it was granted to that state by King Charles II. The land was ceded to the US Government to retire war debt.

Many Revolutionary veterans are buried in the area.



I also had no idea that there is a serious pocket of Mormon history in the area as well. This farmhouse is typical of the architecture (Federal style), and was built in 1818. It's known as the Johnson House, located near Hiram, Ohio. Joseph Smith lived here 1831-1832, as a guest of the Johnsons, and received some of his revelations while staying there. We took the house tour. It's nicely furnished with period pieces, although few are original to the house.



In nearby Kirtland, Ohio was the first Mormon temple. We didn't manage to make it to that town, but there is a multi-location tour offered there. We did hike right through an area where stones were quarried for the temple. Good interpretive signs so you knew what you were seeing. Here are some stones that were left in place, with drill holes showing. The rock is Berea Sandstone, which was used for many, many buildings in the area. This lump looks gray, but most of it is a lovely light reddish tan.



I'd definitely be interested in going back to do some more exploring of the history of the region.

	See 134 Buckeye Miles
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134 Buckeye Miles

 
Home again. I don't think I'll take 12 days and give you a blow-by-blow. I'll try to hit some high spots, and if something nifty intervenes at home here, I'll go back and forth. How about organization by topic?

We were hiking on the Buckeye Trail that encircles the state of Ohio. We did the most northeastern section. Here are Marie and me at the northernmost point of the trail, on Lake Erie.





We found a place to basecamp that wasn't high priced, and stayed there for our whole trip. Since we do mostly day-hiking now, we used two cars and put one at our end point every day, drove to the start point, and walked to the other car. Then of course, we had to go back and get the other car.

The camp site was great... just right for us. We got the fly over the table arranged the best ever! High enough to stand under and it drained water well from both sides without puddling.



Instead of eating our evening meal out as many times as we often do when hiking this way, we resolved to be good and cook in camp more. With a car to carry stuff, I didn't have to dehydrate stuff. But I did plan shelf-stable meals with the exception of some things that were fine in the cooler. Packed each meal separately, and we just pulled one from the box to fix each evening. Here's beef stew with dumplings.



Now it's back to "real" life.

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My Favorite Sandwiches

 
So, I had to go to work before I got these posted on Friday, and that is about two lifetimes ago now. We are in Ohio, getting ready to hike tomorrow. We are really roughing it tonight though. Haha



Back to Friday. It was a gorgeous day and I got to enjoy some of my favorite sandwiches. Like green trees sandwiched between blue...



Like brown road between green trees...



Like brown river between green trees...



And blue lake between green trees...



Not sure how much I'll get to blog in the next two weeks. I can't make my phone hot spot work, and I may not have spaces where I can try to figure it out.

Hopefully I'll "see you" before the hike is over.

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Wildlife Sanctuary

 
Maybe I should make it official and give up on lawn and garden- just give the place over to the wildlife. I looked out my kitchen door this morning, and not 20 feet away was an odd little shape in the grass. Couldn't figure it out for a minute, and then it moved.

Yup, a newborn fawn.





If I'd been looking at the right time of day (probably dawn) I could have watched the birth. It let me get very close before it scrambled to stand on very unsteady legs, and bounded off awkwardly to hide under the apple tree.



Don't worry, I'm sure Mom found it with no problems. Here's where it had been lying. Dry flat grass underneath. That says to me it was born before the sun warmed the grass and melted the frost (yes frost :( ).



At least with no dog I didn't have to worry about protecting it from an exuberant canine.

	See A Little Cutie in the Grass
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