A trip to the spring peeper meadow

[swords]

Hello folks,

I just finished putting together a quick photo tour of a wetlands conservation area called the Spring Peeper Meadow which was purchased and reclaimed to nature set up by our local Arboretum society about a decade or so ago.

I had hoped to find utrics and maybe drosera but did not find them on this trip. I'm not positive they are there since this is a reclaimed farmers field (it was tiled with cermaic tiles back in teh 1840' s as the area was being settled along the Minensota river. Much of Chaska's land is peaty wetland over a clay pan. Chaska is most famous for it's yellow clay brick, however I think the clay mining wet out of business in the early 1900s.

While I didn't find any CPs on the 4th of July trip I found great weath of interesting botanicals just a few teaser pics are below:

The full gallery of photos and captions are at:
http://jurassic-gardens.com/peepermeadow.htm

I hope some wetlands fans will enjoy looking at it!

 

[Starman]

Oh wow!

I like the orchid and the iris!

 

[voodoolizard]

Josh, thanks for sharing the pics. I'll have to check this place out next time I go visit my brother (who lives in Chaska).

One of the places I go see drosera is Quaking bog. It's a tiny little bog In Theodore wirth park. After walking thorgh the bog you can go over to Eloise Butler wildflower & bird sanctuary To see the cypripediums.

Cedar creek bog is another good spot. It's run by the U of M and you need to call to let them Know your coming. cedar creek is an hour (maybe more) north of the cities, but worth the drive.

Chris

 

[swords]

Hi Chris thanks for the tip! Someday maybe I'll make it over there, I used to go in that area all the time to the Down in the Valley record shop.
The Spring peeper Meadow is about 1000 feet after you turn from highway 5 onto highway 41 into chaska. 41 runs right next to the peeper meadow but it's amazing how easily you tune out the road while you're down in the pond. There is another trail at the end of the wetlands area called the Northstar trail, if it hadn't been dark by the time I got there I would have gone onward.

 

[voodoolizard]

BTW I can ID some of the plants for ya, should have did this yesterday when I posted.

Those little yellow flowers are birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) a member of the pea family.

On your link, #2 Is showy milkweed, #9 is a arrowhead (Sagittaria spp.), #13 is probily an arrowhead or water plantain (Alisma spp.).

Chris