WiseAcre Gardens

 I got off today’s avenue of transportation and got on yesteryears’s. At one time the small rivers that flow through the county were the primary means of travel and commerce. Today only the old mills and dams still in existance give a hint of the bustling activity that once centered around the waterways of the north country.

 The small rivers are now a place of solitude. They offer a quiet relaxing day for canoeists and excitement for those fishing. And if you’re hunting wildflowers even a short trip will overwhelm your camera.

 On my outing the other day I found: Canada Lily, Monkey Flower, Fragrant Water Lily, Pickerelweed, Angelica, Swamp Milkweed, Blue Vervain, Swamp Candles and too many more to post all at once.

 Want to see? Well I’m going to show them anyways.

I’ll start by showing a close relative to the “Fangs” from the last post.

Swamp Milkweed

Angelica atropurpurea

These really stand out on the river banks. The red rose color is hard to miss and they seem to be everywhere.

Leaves are longer and narrower than Common Milkweed but they too have ‘fangs’.

I just might have to go back and dig some up for my water garden.  They would make a nice addition for this time of year when blooms are lacking there now except for the Jewelweed.

Canada Lily 

Lilium Canadense

One of my favorite wildflowers.  Looking up at it from the river was the perfect angle to really catch it’s beauty. 

For a better view click on the photo for a closeup look.

I won’t be digging any of these up. There aren’t enough in the wild to disturb them in my opinion.  I could since I have permission to do so in my ’secret’ spot but I don’t need the guilt trip if I messed up transplanting them and killed them.

Square Stemmed Monkey Flower

Mimulus ringens

You’re supposed to see a face but I don’t. My imagination isn’t up to the task.

Generally these are found on the shore but with the river running high after the rain they were emerging from the water. 

These were a new find and I had doubts about identification. My field guides and almost every photo I found on-line had much more pronounced yellow markings. The ones I found only had a faint hint of yellow on the lower lip.  I had to rely on the plant form and foliage to make sure.

 Fragrant Water Lily

 Nymphaea odorata

I have to admit i never tried smelling these. Leaning over the side of the canoe isn’t a good idea. The only time I really had a chance to sniff I was too busy preparing for my oldest daughters wedding.  I went out early that day and picked a boatload. We used them as center pieces. and I must say they made a great conversation piece.

click the photo for a closeup look

Pickerelweed

Pontederia cordata

You can’t miss these if you’re on any the rivers in the north country. Extensive areas along the shores are dominated by Pickerelweed.

The flowers aren’t anything special until you get up close and personal. It must have been the bright sunlight that makes this one look more blue than the usual purple.

I may go back and dig some of these up too. They look cool with their arrow shaped leaves emerging from the water. Since my pond is only inches deep they would be right at home with my Yellow Flag Iris. (Iris pseudacorus)

They are quite aggressive but in my small pond they’re not going to get too far.  It would also be quite a fight. The yellow flag iris is no slouch either when it comes to expanding it’s territory. The only drawback I can see is losing sight of any ‘open’ water.

Angelica

Angelica atropurpurea

This was a monster. It had to be pushing 9 feet tall.

A member of the Parsley family it looks similar to Cow Parsnip. 

Both are edible as cooked vegetables but I’ve never tried either.  One of my field guides say Angelica can be prepared as a candy. I’d like to see the look on some kids face when you tell them to go out and pick some candy and point to that plant.

Blue Vervain

Verbena hastata

I don’t see this often and usually they are in some roadside ditch. But this time I found an extensive bed along the Grasse River. From a distance all I noticed was a purple - blue haze in a cow pasture. The flower spikes on the Blue Vervain I found were small, most were under 2 inches long so you can imagine how small the flowers are.

Flowers bloom a few at a time moving upwards toward the top of the stems. The photos don’t show the almost iridescent glow of the flower spikes.

 I guess if the cows won’t eat them then the deer might not either. Maybe I should bring a couple home and see? Anything I can do to frustrate the deer is worth the effort.

 

Last but not least was another ‘new’ find.

Swamp Candles

Lysimachia terrestris

This is a relative of garden loosestrifes but the flower is far more showy in my opinion. It’s a small plant that almost goes unnoticed with so many other yellow flowers in bloom at this time. The only problem is the flowers are very small and the details are hard to see. Each petal has two redish dots at the base.

ok this post is long enough without showing the moneywort (another loosestrife), dogbane, indian hemp (another dogbane), St. Johnswort, Wild Parsnip and Jewelweed that I also found along the river.

 

 With the weather predicted to be stormy I decided to hang out in my ‘backyard’ instead of heading to the backwoods to go fishing.

 You can’t miss the Grasse River in Morley. The biggest thing in the hamlet is the bridge and the old mill. On the other side of the bridge you’ll find the fire station and across from that a place to park.

 

 

 

 This section of the Grasse river is shallow and rocky. The current is fairly fast with plenty of ripples. Yesterday it was about twice as high with all the rain we’ve had lately and wading the river was quite a challenge. With slippery footing and the strong current I had a hard time keeping my footing.

Looking upriver from the bridge you can just make out where the river begins to get shallow.  Looking downstream from the bridge the shallows fade from sight around a bend in the river. It usually takes me 4 or 5 hours to wade the entire section of shallows. It would take a lot less but almost every cast gets a strike. The river here is full of smallmouth bass. They might run small but they keep you busy I’m not exaggerating when I say I catch a couple dozen 8 - 10 inch bass whenever I fish this section.

Yesterday was no different. Over 30 small bass came to meet me. What was unusual is that no keepers seemed to be willing to go home with me. Usually I manage to catch a few but with the river flowing high all the “holes” seemed to be vacant.  Next time I might get a pic of a whopper. This time I had to settle for a couple wildflower photos.

 

Canada Anemone - Anemone canadensis

 I was happy to find these - I wanted to get some better photos but forgot to go look and thought i missed them this year. I have a friend who has a meadow filled with them and it’s really a sight to see when they’re in bloom. But it’s out of the way and I never managed to get over there this spring. I will be headed that way now that i’m fishing again. The Oswegatchie River that runs along his property is another great spot to go fishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meadow Rue - Thalictrum

 I’m almost certain this is Tall Meadow-rue (Thalictrum polygamum but it’s size makes me have doubts. Tall meadow-rue is supposed to grow 3 to 8 feet tall but what i found was lucky to pust 2 feet. It was probably the growing conditions that stunted it. These were growing out of bare rock at the shoreline of the river. One other thing - they seem to be blooming early - my field guide has the listed as flowering in July / Sept - close enough I guess not to worry about bloom time being ‘off’.

It comes to mind that so many garden perennials started off on the wild side. Have you noticed how many wild flowers I’ve posted have family members hanging out in someone’s garden?

Now it’s time to ask who can Identify this wildflower? I can’t seem to find it in any of my field guides. It doesn’t mean it’s not there but so far I’m stumped.  It couldn’t have been more than 1 1/2 feet tall but I expect in better conditions it would grow talled. Like the meadow-rue it was growing out of a crak in the rock at the river’s edge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 The flowers were quite small - about 1/4 inch - maybe a bit larger.  Note the red stems - all the plants had them even on the flower stalks.

There were only a couple of these wildflowers along the whole shoreline. Only one spot along the bank had any and they were pretty beaten up and broken. I was lucky to find one with blooms.

 

And last but not least I had a spectator during the end of my day on the river. She was surprised to look up and see me. Holding as still as she we stared at each other before I broke the moment by waving. The deer thing took that as a sign to flee. I took it as time to call it a day.