Butterfly Weed
For those of you fortunate enough to hike, bike or take other forms of transportation along the Rattlesnake Bluff trail in Wacouta, you will notice a variety of colors are now appearing before our eyes. Without a doubt, one of the brightest and most conspicuous prairie plants along the trail is the butterfly weed. This perennial prairie plant is a member of the milkweed family, lacks the typical milky juice.
Common Milkweed
The common milkweed is now in full bloom along the trail. The presence of this plant is vital for successful monarch butterfly reproduction. Back in the day of Environmental Learning Center Wild Edible Foods Banquets, milkweed blossoms were harvested and served like broccoli with a cream sauce. The preparation included covering the blossoms with boiling water and draining each time.
Purple Prairie Clover
Another colorful prairie perennial observed along the trail right now is the delicate purple prairie clover.
Gray-Headed Coneflower
To add some additional hues to the trail one can observe the showy drooping yellow rays of the gray-headed coneflower.
Friends of Wacouta
For the past several years, a contingent of "Friends Of Wacouta" volunteers have provided numerous hours of efforts to develop and maintain a prairie adjacent to the trail. These efforts have included planting, weeding, mowing, invasive species eradication and prescribed burning.
Current volunteers leading these efforts are from left to right Nancy Braschler, Jill Mehrkens, Diane Mueller and Marsha Cooper. Anyone interested in becoming involved in future projects along the trail is asked to call either 388-5694 or 651-999-9185. Volunteer assistance will be rewarding and greatly appreciated.
Gray Tree Frog
Early this spring, we were entertained in the evenings by the calls of wood frogs. Now providing temperatures are above 60 degrees, gray tree frogs are the source of the evening sounds. Remarkably, these common amphibians can change colors to better blend into their surroundings. I observed this tree frog clinging to the bark of a Norway pine.
We have added an audio file to the Home Page to hear a recording of the Wood Frog.
Mulberry Tree
We have now entered the season of wild edible berries. One of the first to ripen are mulberries. The best way to collect these berries is to spread a tarp of sheet on the ground underneath a mulberry tree.
Turkey Vultures
Sometime during the night of June 27th, a deer was hit by a vehicle at the intersection of Grace Trail and Wacouta Road. Within 12 hours, the local clean-up detail arrived on site. Turkey vultures provide a great service to our environment.
Feral Cat on the Wacouta Trail
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that up to 3 billion birds are killed every year in this country by feral and free roaming cats.