Nothing ventured, nothing gained…
We ventured… and gained a rare one, the Snow Trillium!
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Ruth and I had dinner on Friday night and pretty much agreed that both since we were pretty beat after a long week and since the weather looked kinda bleak and stormy for Saturday, we wouldn’t venture out.
Saturday morning… she texted me with “Yawwwwnnnnn.” It was clear how she was planning on spending the day. Work Week Recovery! Yep. Sounded good, but… but…
Shortly, I texted back “Weather looks like it’s gonna miss us, I’m thinking Snow Trilliums?”
Shortly later “Stopped thinkin’, startin’ doin’. Headin’ out, Spring only comes once this year!”
So, the days adventure proceeded anyway, despite our previous commitment to “not venturing!”
Flashback:
Ruth and I did some invasive species (AKA Honeysuckle) removal a few weekends ago with Dr. Julian Campbell. He is a wealth of knowledge and a great source of learning if you have that opportunity. One thing we learned (or in Ruth’s case, re-learned) was about the Snow Trillium. It is a rare plant in Kentucky, only found in two counties, and rare in those. It is a very small, low flower and only blooms in early March. According to the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission it is found in “Mesophytic forests with limestone derived soils, slopes associated with large river systems” and “Plants under 10 cm tall, flowers white and peduncled. Ovary 3 lobed (not winged), leaves definitely petioled. Peduncle recurved in fruit.”
OoooKaaaay. Got it!
So we had a heads up on where to search and what to search for from Julian, and search we did on this day’s ad-venture.
Finally, after seeing many other Trilliums of another variety, not yet blooming, Ruth spotted one lonely, white, blooming Snow Trillium. Needless to say we dove in, camera and tripods flying (but being careful not to Trample other Trilliums.) While I only took a few shots of this treasure, Ruth got many great images. What a rare find, and by next weekend it will likely be past time to find them. We only found one more, its bloom still not open… but we did find that single rare one we ventured out for!
The all uphill hike back to the van; well, two truly tired, but happy puppies.
So just remember when you are tired, worried about the weather, thinkin’ about just staying home… remember the prize… because,
Nothing ventured, nothing gained…
