Polypores, Peepers and Poop

 

We explored the Francis Small Heritage Trust's "The Heath" in Cornish/Limerick last week. I was disappointed that there was no trail map or indication of distance at the entrance, but we proceeded nevertheless, assuming the trail would loop back around to our car.

It's a lovely walk, very well signposted and easy to follow, though it's VERY boggy in places. (It's a bog! And it's spring!). Sometimes the path is necessarily far from the marsh on elevated land. 

Some of the downed logs that we relied on to get through soggy spots seemed to be mattresses dressed up to look like moss covered trees. They were not solid foundations at all! They squished down and depressed when we stood on them, so despite our precautions, we sometimes got our shoes wet. Maybe Wellies next time?

We encountered a lot of deer and turkey droppings, heard peepers and wood frogs, saw an eastern garter snake, a soaring turkey vulture, tons of polypore (shelf) fungi, and exquisite mosses. We called up a hermit thrush by playing its call on our phone - it was incredibly inquisitive, and came right over to see who was in its territory.

The iridescent green of fresh new plants was striking. These are Veratrum viride, a native commonly known as Indian poke, bear corn or devil's bite. It has a high alkaloid content and is toxic if ingested (it has been used externally by some indigenous peoples). Not a good plant to have around livestock!

Thanks to our friends G&D for revealing this gem to us.