10 of 40: pa-huska nature trail

sun-dappled selfie

April sped by without any hiking until this past weekend. We are diligently finishing school work, preparing the vegetable garden, beginning new events for the children and prepping a home project. Hiking hasn't been on the forefront of our minds. It was with this in mind that we took the long hikes in March. They really tided me over knowing we wouldn't be out in the woods as much in April. The warm weather (and ticks) come out soon, so Summer will have less hikes too.

The hike this past Saturday was sweet, though. It was simple, mostly a stroll, rather than a rocky hike and at 2.2 miles was short enough that it didn't take a half day because we didn't have that much time to give it. The Pa-Huska Nature Trail is at Lake Jacomo. It seems there are three trail heads and we actually began on one not marked (this is characteristic of us!). The marked trail head is at Sailboat Cove, which we did see on the hike and even saw sailboats since it was lovely weather.

The woods are turning bright green and it is wonderful! Such beauty. And the blooms! They really were the feature presentation of the day. My favorite was the may apple. I have seen the plant before, but not the bloom. We saw blankets of blooms on this hike, and to me that was very special. The plants grow low to the ground and the bloom is under the "umbrella" so you have to squat to actually see (and photograph) the beauty. 

It seems that each trail we hike has something memorable for me about it and the may apples take the cake on this one. The refreshment, as always, was a gift and the time with Jesse and the children, as always, so fun. I did see a couple of white-tailed deer (I think because I was at the back of group and the kids scared them), but mostly I think we are too loud (laughing and chatting) to see much wildlife although Jesse is on a mission, I think, to minimize our volume. 

I should mention this trail is a loop and doesn't seem connected to other trails so the odds of getting lost are minimal, but it is currently not marked the most clearly and has a broken bridge unable to be crossed. I would love to be able to label the above blooms, but am in need of further education on the topic and have Missouri Wildflowers on my list.