Come on a virtual walk with John DeMary, well known local naturalist and retired teacher, at Ball’s Bluff Regional Park to see the forest as it reemerges from its winter sleep. Ball’s Bluff covers numerous microhabitats — riparian, oak-beech, oak-hickory, flood plain — each of which is home to its own distinct plant and animal communities that will be explored including early spring wildflowers. This will be part of a series that explores the forest on its cycle through the seasons. We’ll track the progression from flower to leaf to fruit, observe the succession of understory plant growth, and watch the forest’s denizens as they go about their daily lives… if they let us.
While we cannot experience this with you in-person, we want to share some of the awe and wonder of nature with you. We hope you enjoy these videos from our recent trip to Ball’s Bluff.
John DeMary started with an introduction of the forest history at Ball’s Bluff.
Spring Beauties in the Forest
Cut-leaf Toothwort
Overview of Balls Bluff
Rue Anemone
Using Newcomb’s Wildflower and Early Saxifrage
Jack-in-the-Pulpit and Wild Ginger
Twinleaf, Yellow Violet and Trout Lily
Bloodroot
Redbud and Chokecherry
Squirrel Corn
Eastern Ratsnake and Easter Gartersnake
Rockcap Fern, Alumroot and Rock Cress
Shooting Star