Hikers, hi!
Here are a few spring ephemerals you can expect to see in the forests of northern Illinois this week! Hurry, because “ephemeral” means “lasting for a short time” and these adorable wildflowers won’t be here much longer. The good news is they’ll be “replaced” by more beautiful wildflowers like Red Trillium and Dutchman’s Breeches, which we’ll share with you in next week’s blog post. Until then, we hope you enjoy these photos and we hope to see you on the trails!

Sharp-lobed hepatica

Bloodroot

Virginia spring beauty

Virginia bluebells
Regarding the Virgninia bluebells. When we took this photo on Sunday, April 9, the bluebells hadn’t quite opened up. That means they will be in full bloom on our hike at Deer Run Forest Preserve on Saturday, April 15 from 9-11 a.m. There will be a “carpet” of bluebells on this hike! If you want to see some natural spectacle, join us on this hike.