Disaster at Big Maple Lake

This afternoon I really needed a break, and since I hadn't been to Deep River County Park in a good two months, that's where I went. Took Maya with me, of course. Both of us doused in mosquito repellant.

Out in the woods, I found a mayapple bearing fruit.


(Click on image to enlarge)

I'm not sure if the fruit is still poisonous at this point. Decided not to find out.

Nothing was blooming in the woods except jumpseed. We'll get to jumpseed later. That's another flower you simply can't photograph.

The weather wasn't as hot as it's been, but it was still pretty warm. So Maya was glad to get out of the woods and into Big Maple Lake.



Over in the shallow part of the lake, I found this interesting wildflower.



The blossoms are tiny. But you need a precise description of the blossoms in order to use Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, so I inched right up to the edge of the water to try to get a good look at them, all the while juggling my Newcomb's, my camera and Maya's leash. And that's when it happened: disaster.

I dropped my Newcomb's Wildflower Guide in the lake!

It floats. Who knew?

I don't think it's going to recover. The pages are all warped and stuck together. I've already ordered another copy.



I managed to pry the pages apart enough to get a tentative ID on that plant: Pickerelweed.