Our First Spring Nature Walk part 1

For the past week now we have been having beautiful weather and so a few days ago I was finally able to take my kids on our first spring nature walk. In our homeschool one subject we study is nature and nature walks go hand in hand with our nature studies. For this walk I told my 10 year old we were on the look out for wildflowers that might be in bloom. He had previously spotted some Western trilliums (Trillium ovatum) a few days back while playing in the woods by his friend’s home so I knew we were sure to at least find those. For my daughter, who is now 2 ½, I simply love to watch her notice the trees, flowers, leaves, etc. that surround her. She fell in love with a fallen birch flower and would not let it go throughout our entire walk. She also found a stick that she clutched for dear life and absolutely refused to leave behind.

My camera took an unfortunate spill while wrangling those two hikers that were growing weary as I simultaneously attempted a photo (I highly do not recommend attempting this to anyone). It is currently “under the weather” sadly and as I patiently (okay, I’m attempting patience) wait for its repairs I thought I would post a nature walk series here on my blog.

I was able to get a few nice shots before we ended our walk and this first picture is of the beginning as we entered the trail.

Almost immediately we spotted the trilliums. They are so dramatic standing tall as they do on the forest floor. My son was quite pleased with himself when he could identify these right off the bat. In fact he was the first one to spot them.

Another flower we spotted right away was the Pacific Bleeding Heart (Dicentra formosa). When we first moved up here over 3 years ago I remember being so excited to see bleeding hearts growing in the wild. These graceful little plants were everywhere! Literally everywhere we looked we would see the ground carpeted with their lacey foliage. Most were still not yet in bloom but we were lucky and found a few showing off their dainty flowers.

The bleeding hearts always make me think of fairies. I can just imagine them hiding out under the leaves.

This bleeding heart pictured below found quite the place to call home!

I mentioned to my son to take note when we would reach a clearing and suddenly find ourselves in the sun. I asked him did he notice something was missing. I cannot say how proud I was when he noted that the bleeding hearts and sword ferns had dwindled in number. I asked him what he thought that must mean and I could not help but smile from ear to ear when he stated that they must not like the sun as much.

It never ceases to amaze me how much kids will soak knowledge up. My 10 year old truly enjoys our nature studies and is getting rather good at identifying various plant, insects, and birds.

I have more photos to share from our nature walk and I will continue to do so tomorrow.

Tagged as: Native Plants, Nature Walks, Wildflowers