Raw Earth Galleries Blog

Let me be the first to say good riddance to winter (on behalf of those who happen to live in the northern hemisphere). I extend my sympathies (sort of) to those ensconced south of the equatorial divide.  Spring is such a liberating time for me.  Maybe not as emancipating as Newt Gingrich stepping up to save the planet from global warming (cynicism alert), but certainly on a par with Andrew Zimmern devouring a beating frog heart on Bizzare Foods.  Now as I shake off the hibernation blues and soak up the drenching spring sun I realize that I am once again in my natural element. My adventures, severely curtailed by the winter doldrums, have resumed, aided and abetted by a brand new trail bike. My butt is sore, but I can’t say that I wasn’t warned by the highly responsible owner of the bike shop about the consequences of overdosing on speed and packed gravel. I’ve got fifty miles of rail trail at my back door.  The temptation to over-indulge is simply too great.

My first adventure of the spring involved taking my camera on a bike trip down the Mon River Trail, which runs from just north of Morgantown to Fairmont, WV (erstwhile birthplace of the pepperoni roll).  The section below Uffington Bridge is quite wild and overgrown with wildflowers this time of the year. A quick detour to Nature Gallery 06 under Structures will give you some indication of the variety of blooming things to be found within easy access of the trail. Purple trillium, also known as wake robin in tribute to another harbinger of spring’s arrival, was a particulalry welcome discovery.  True to the advisories in the reference books, however, its showy flower is far more attractive than its odor, which is one of the nastiest smells in the wildflower community.  I snapped most of the gallery’s photos in a quiet, beautiful cove, featuring two picturesque waterfalls, within easy reach of the trail - one of those idyllic natural features you’re always surprised to find in an increasingly urbanized setting like Morgantown.

Sadly, among all the beautiful native wildflowers, I also discovered an invasive alien species that is threatening to displace the endemic ones: garlic mustard (see left).  While it may look attractive, it’s a noxious weed with the capacity to rapidly dominate the forest floor.  Originally imported from Europe as a food source, it’s now spread wild throughout much of the eastern US and is altering many of our native plant communities, similar to chickory, hawkweed, etc.  A number of conservation groups have undertaken efforts to eradicate garlic mustard from key wild lands but its hardiness and resiliency make this an uphill battle (one of many our eastern forests are now facing from foreign invaders, including the woolly adelgid, gypsy moth, etc.).  Don’t get me wrong - I’m no xenophobe.  But I’d rather have European and/or Asian plants and bugs infesting European and/or Asian forests than our own.

Now that spring has returned I look forward to many new adventures ahead, some on my bike and some not.  But regardless of how I get there, you’ll see the photographic evidence right here . . .