REASON to REJOICE - D&R CANAL COMMISSION TO CONTINUE

NJ WILD readers know my passion for the D&R Canal and Towpath.  For decades, as a poet, I referred to those sacred trails as “nurse, haven and muse.”

Eagle over Sculler on Lake Carnegie - D&R Canal Park - Brenda Jones

It’s never made any sense to me that we might do away with the D&R Canal Commission!  That water is our drinking water.  That historic landscape is beyond price.  The Commission costs taxpayers nothing, which people more politically astute than I can and do explain easily.  My friend and colleague at D&R Greenway, Jim Amon, is a person of the highest integrity and honor.  He served as Director of the D&R Canal Commission for thirty years before coming to us as Director of Land Stewardship.  It is to Jim’s vigilance, persistence, high aesthetic sense, and political savvy that we owe much of the beauty of that State Park.  Even the handsome ‘new’ bridge over Route 1 at Lawrenceville, designed to echo canal bridges and wrought iron signs of yesterday, wouldn’t have happened without Jim.  In all its years, the D&R Canal Commission has only missed decision deadlines ten times!  Tell us what other government agency can match this record, these accomplishments.

Alexander Road Bridge, D&R Canal and Towpath, Full Summer   cfe

But Governor Christie said the Commission had to go. The Commission was going to be folded into NJ DEP, that same sterling bureaucracy that just brought us the inexplicable shooting of the beavers of Mountain Lakes so-called Preserve…    “And Governor Christie is an honorable man….”  (please feel full irony straight from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar in the above quote, one of my favorite speeches in all theatre…)

Approaching Storm, Griggstown, D&R Canal and Towpath, Martha Weintraub

Many of us protested the evisceration of the D&R Canal Commission in various ways, –in person and through letters and in the hot links I am always urging NJ WILD readers to use.  Thank heaven especially for Jeff Tittel, head of NJ Sierra Club, for leading the charge.  Here is the result of courage and persistence.

Great Blue Heron with Fish, Lake Carnegie, D&R Canal State Park, Brenda Jones

Rejoice!

Never cease to be vigilant in terms of saving New Jersey beauty and history.

D&R Canal State Park, Mapleton Aqueduct, cfe

Artist Joe Kazimierczyk Treasures North Jersey - his “Mountain Road”

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Fellow hikers, [though no NJ WILD reader], ask why I seem never to write of New Jersey North.  The truth is, for me, the journey is the destination.  You know my passion for empty Pine Barrens Roads, for being surrounded by dense woods, near resonant peat streams, going down every “No Outlet” in Salem and Cumberland Counties to the Delaware Bay.

The splendor of Joe’s images from New Jersey North could almost convince me otherwise, however.

NJ WILD readers know that I need route to and from nature sites to nourish, to serve as part of my haven experience.

Roads I must utilize to reach North Jersey are fraught, competitive, frankly too corporate, populated with people in a driven mood (pun intentional).  Those highways sap my strength, come between beauty and me, peace and me, nature and me.  Those conduits undo the good of most northern excursions, with the possible exception of Ken Lockwood Gorge up beyond Clinton.

A CANOE CALLED DISCOVERY, CLINTON…  cfe

It was worth taking highways to reach beautiful Clinton and its Colorado-like Gorge.  But I digress:

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Roads North Do Not Daunt Artist Joe Kazimierczyk - They Inspire Him:

Route 202 North

Route 202 North Immortalized by Joe Kaz

There are hardy souls, [such as one of my all-time favorite New Jersey artists], Joe Kazimierczyk, who treasure northern sites and will pay any price, highway-wise, bear any burden to reach them.  Joe, whom everyone calls Joe Kaz, is a joy as a person as well as through his art.  As I once wrote in a poem to Vincent Van Gogh, I could say to Joe, “You write as well as you paint!”  Joe Kaz  — man of the eloquent brush.

You can see his work, beginning this Wednesday, at the Verde Gallery in Kingston, next to legendary local/sustainable/gourmet’s haven, Eno Terra Restaurant.  http://www.joekaz.com/galleries/verde_artists_collective

Verde Artists’ Collective

Here is the key to the treasury of Joe’s superb art of the moment, catalyzed by nature, especially in the Sourland Mountains, which we of D&R Greenway Land Trust have done so much to preserve.  Joe devotes his life to singing Sourland praises, as well as Hunterdon County and the D&R Canal and Towpath.  Without preservation throughout our beleaguered state, Joe would be lacking the major sources of inspiration for his brilliant works.in oil and acrylic.                       http://www.joekaz.com/

My purpose is to honor Joe, as well as to be fair to the northern part of our fair state.  When Joe speaks of North, he means in and near and on the way to and from the Delaware Water Gap.  Up there, he can lose himself in trails and timelessness, return with shimmering canvases.

Round Valley, Northern New Jersey, Tryptych — Joe Kazimierczyk

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I’ll collect some of Joe’s words about North Jersey, which inspires him, beyond his native Sourlands.

Joe and I were write/talking about bears in NJ, I remembering bears near Chatsworth in the Pines.  He writes:

I’ve only seen bears twice in NJ and both times were up there - once along the road on the way to Walpak, and once while hiking the trails near Rattlesnake Mtn.    When I saw the bears on the trail, it was a mother bear with cub, so we just froze and didn’t move until the bears were out of sight.

Another sight I’ll never forget seeing up there - a large hawk flying low with a big snake in its claws.   Wish I could say what kind of bird but I’m not good at bird identification.   Impressive sight though!

Our initial interchange called forth these descriptions:

I haven’t painted any scenes up there in a long long time.   I’m attaching 3 that I did in 1989 - they’re done with acrylics, and quite a bit different from those I’m painting now.

blue_mountain_1.jpg - this is a view from the AT atop Kittatinny Ridge somewhere above Buttermilk Falls, looking out over the Poconos.   If memory serves, it was probably from Rattlesnake Mountain and nearby are a group of lakes and ponds named Blue Mountain Lakes.

Joe Kazimierczyk’s “Blue Mountain”

mountain_road_walpack.jpg - Near the town of Walpak, Mountain Rd takes you to the base of Buttermilk Falls.   From there, it’s a very steep climb up to the Appalachian Trail.  I wish I had a picture of Buttermilk Falls  - it’s 75′ tall, the tallest waterfall in NJ.  There a nice pic on this guy’s blog.   This Park Service doc also has a photo:  http://www.nps.gov/dewa/historyculture/upload/cmsstgOMR3WC.pdf

Joe Kazimierczyk’s Mountain Road, Walpack

mountain_road_walpack.jpg - Near the town of Walpak, Mountain Rd takes you to the base of Buttermilk Falls.   From there, it’s a very steep climb up to the Appalachian Trail.  I wish I had a picture of Buttermilk Falls  - it’s 75′ tall, the tallest waterfall in NJ.  There a nice pic on this guy’s blog.   This Park Service doc also has a photo:  http://www.nps.gov/dewa/historyculture/upload/cmsstgOMR3WC.pdf

Coppermines Trail by Joe Kazimierczyk

coppermines_tail_2.jpg - this painting is really stylized - nothing like the realism that I paint now, but I think it still captures the feel of Coppermines Trail where and the hemlock filled ravine it follows.   There are also some nice waterfalls at the top of this trail.   Closer to the bottom of the trail you can see some coppermine tunnels that go back to the mid-1700’s.

BUTTERMILK FALLS DESCRIPTION FROM Internet: This spectacular waterfall cascades down the mountainside just a few feet from the road; it is breathtaking in most seasons, but less so during dry periods. The National Park Service has built interpretive displays along a wooden stairway to the top of the falls, but use caution as it is quite steep and is likely to be damp. Adventurous explorers can take the Buttermilk Falls Blue Trail that climbs 1000 feet above the falls, and ultimately reaches the Appalachian Trail after approximately 1.9 miles. For more information visit http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/ebh/buttermilk.html.

Although Mountain Road is unpaved and rough in some areas, it can be rewarding for wildlife-viewing. There are several parking areas, and, as with the other sites in this region, a host of birds can be found, including American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow, Blue-winged, Hooded, Magnolia and Northern Parula Warblers, Wood, Veery, Swainson’s and Hermit Thrushes, Eastern Wood Pewee, Great-crested Flycatcher and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

Wikipedia on Joe’s northern region of inspiration:

At the south end of the park, the river cuts eastward through the Appalachian Mountains at the scenic Delaware Water Gap. A one-day auto tour of the park can include waterfalls, rural scenery, and historic Millbrook Village. Visitors can also canoe, hike, camp, swim, picnic, bicycle, crosscountry ski, and horseback ride. Fishing and hunting are permitted in season with state licenses. The park hosts significant Native American archaeological sites, and a number of structures remain from early Dutch settlement during the colonial period.

The birder in me is intrigued, as I hope NJ WILD readers are, also.  Do your own North Jersey research, and send me your results as comments.  Lead me on new trails.  Thank you!  cfe

And just in case you’ve forgotten the splendors of Ken Lockwood Gorge, north of  historic Clinton:

Tasha O’Neill Immortalizes N. Jersey’s Trout-Central - the Ken Lockwood Gorge

In Memoriam - Beavers of Mountain Lakes Preserve Shot on Friday, May 13

my source Princeton Packet, May 20

What could’ve happened - from my NYC roommate from 1960’s, now living in Washington, D.C.:

Brenda Jones’ Images of Beavers of Mapleton Aqueduct

–  where and how we met –

Friday the 13th was an unlucky day, indeed, for two beavers of Princeton.  On that day, our Animal Control Officer, Mark Johnson, seems to have unilaterally decided that these wild creatures were a nuisance.  He took it upon himself to order a strolling woman, Kathleen Hutchins — who had been making beaver pilgrimages each (non-rainy) evening–, to leave the Mountain Lakes Preserve at 7:30 p.m., because he was “going to get rid of them.”

Beaver Swims North of Mapleton Aqueduct - Brenda Jones

Asked why not relocating, the officer’s answer was that he was going to kill them.  Relocating would’ve been natural.  We go on beaver walks in the Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown Marsh, right down the road.  Botanist Mary Leck and Ornithologist Charlie Leck, who lead these walks, prefer the winter ones, “because you can see the beavers’ breath…”  “Not relocating because I am going to kill them” is no answer, a travesty of the highest magnitude.

The officer’s so-called reasons:  “The beavers were raising the water and eating the vegetation.”

Beaver Breakfast — Brenda Jones — Mapleton Aqueduct Family

NJ WILD readers know my fascination for and gratitude to beavers, since they brought Brenda and Cliff Jones to me, north of the Millstone Aqueduct, on land preserved by D&R Greenway Land Trust, where I work.  The three of us were on pilgrimage to this then new phenomenon.  They knew where and when to find these nocturnal beings whose gleaming sculptures had begun to add interest to the canal’s vegetation in recent weeks.  Beavers, the essence of wildness, had honored us, as have the American bald eagles, by choosing to live and raise their young in our midst.

Close-up of Millstone Aqueduct Beaver — Brenda Jones

Everyone knows, raising water levels, building dams, building lodges, eating vegetation - those heinous offenses for which the Meadow Lakes “Preserve” beavers had to pay with their lives – this is what beavers do.  They are part of the cosmic circle of life.  Water-raising is needed so that other forms of life may come into being and thrive.  In winters, especially harsh ones, beavers keep waters open so that waterfowl may drink, may swim, may access foods to survive that season’s challenges.

Bufflehead, one of many Winter Ducks who benefit from beaver-open water - Brenda Jones

Who is this “Animal Control Officer” to decide that beavers are not to fulfill their centuries-old purpose on this planet?

It’s WE who are in Beaver Territory!  Their rights to these lands and waters pre-date the Lenni Lenape, 10,000-years-ago such light voyagers upon these lands.

Beaver Swimming Away   Brenda Jones

Nevermore to Be Seen at Mountain Lakes Preserve…

Letters of protest are being written.

Investigations are underway.

The “Control Officer” is on purported vacation this week.

Protests and investigations will not bring back wild lives.

Beaver Yearling as Narcissus - Brenda Jones

From the Packet article of Friday, May 20, “A permit is needed for the trapping of beaver.  It is illegal to shoot beavers, which are a protected species in New Jersey.”

Beavertail Warning, Brenda Jones

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later story in Times of Trenton - bolds mine, of course…  $100 - $200 fine….

By Krystal Knapp/For The Times on NJ.comThe Times, Trenton
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“TROUBLESOME’  — THE NERVE OF US!  “When will we ever learn, when will we everrrrr learn?….” cfe

These pictures are the fruits of Brenda Jones’ one day of birding at what used to be called Baldpate Mountain, and is now “The Ted Stiles Preserve at Baldpate Mountain”.  If you seek a reason for preservation, look below…

When Baldpate Mountain Country Park was renamed, Mercer County Executive, Brian Hughes, announced this significant christening at Ted Stiles’ memorial, attended by more than five hundred whose lives have been enriched by this splendid preservationist, and greatly diminished by his absence.

“Even while Ted was fighting for his life, he was working on open-space preservation projects,” Mr. Hughes revealed.  “The preservation of Baldpate Mountain was noteworthy in that it was an extremely difficult proposal to put together.  It took a person whose expertise was second to none.  It took Ted.”

Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Full Breeding Plumage - Brenda Jones

Some people take pictures, such as yours truly.

Some create art - Brenda Jones’ forte, as NJ WILD readers know.

Scarlet Tanager, Brenda Jones

Some cherish birds.

Some immortalize them.

American Redstart, Brenda Jones

Brenda and Cliff Jones went to Baldpate Mountain recently, a place in whose preservation, of course, D&R Greenway Land Trust had a significant hand.  A place dear to the heart of the late Ted Stiles, whose impossible death still stuns, but whose lifework lives on wherever there is wild New Jersey, especially Baldpate Mountain.

Black and White Warbler, Brenda Jones

(These electrifying creatures bop down trunks like nuthatches.

preferring deep forest…)

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BRENDA’S BALDPATE MASTERPIECES:

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American Goldfinch, Brenda Jones

(New Jersey’s State Bird)

Remember, without preservation, there would be no habitat for these winged jewels of springtime.

Baltimore Oriole, Brenda Jones

(despite their being Princeton colors, this bird is named for the colors of Lord Baltimore, Brenda notes)

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Brenda Jones

(I’ve never even seen one, except in bird books and magazine…)

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Without preservation, there would be no habitat in which artists like Brenda can work photomagic.

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Veery, Brenda Jones

(I’ve heard Veeries, in Sourland Mountains, at Marsh - but not seen…)

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Without preservation, there would be no wide open, nor shaded, nor climbing settings in which NJ WILD readers can seek and achieve their own restoration!

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Black-throated Green Warbler from below, Brenda Jones

(I know, where’s the green? — bird names can be amusing/frustrating…)

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Black Vulture, Brenda Jones

(Brenda honors vultures)

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Red-eyed Vireo, “Singing Its Heart Out”, Brenda Jones

(The whole point of these songs and raiments is to convince prospective mates.)

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Chipping Sparrow, Brenda Jones

(This dapper little fellow is usually found on ground, even on your lawn, energetically feeding.)

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Hooded Warbler from below, Brenda Jones

(One bird name that works!)

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Eastern Towhee “In His Tuxedo” — Brenda Jones

(This is the bird that fought his rival in my parked car’s rear-view mirror last week!)

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Brenda Jones is always in the right place at the right time - see this black-throated green with its prey in that tiny beak — good provider!

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along with another good provider, the Magnolia Warbler with a caterpillar

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and this black-and-white with its spider

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A TREASURY OF BREEDING WARBLERS BY BRENDA JONES

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made possible through the preservation of treasured

NEW JERSEY LAND!

Louv has prescribed kayaking, urges “radical amazement”

Our Boundary Waters - One of our unique three coasts…

NJ WILD - Our Delaware River in Flood-time — Brenda Jones

NJ WILD readers know that my key nature hero remains Henry David Thoreau.

My 21st-Century Nature Hero is Richard Louv.  I have just finished his newest book - “The Nature Principle — Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit Disorder“ – a result devoutly to be wished!, especially in beleaguered New Jersey.

You may wonder why this hugely successful author of “Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder”, as well as founder of the Children and Nature Network, needs to do another nature blockbuster already.

Because everywhere he goes to speak, –including HERE at D&R Greenway Land Trust last summer (we gave a dinner for 60 and 80 showed up, and we fed them, loaves and fishes and all that jazz…)–, grown-ups buttonhole the author and insist, “Adults have Nature-Deficit Disorder too!” All over this country and beyond, grown-ups now are actively forging antidotes to the disease Louv named.  This book is his report of that renaissance.

Cormorant-Gull Battle, Lake Carnegie, Princeton — Brenda Jones

If Brenda Jones didn’t seek nature, she would not be our Witness to the Wild…

NJ WILD readers also know that I’m never finished with a beloved book, nor author.  Henry and Richard pop up in these virtual pages all the time, and never enough - motto of the impassioned.

I’ve decided to write key phrases from “The Nature Principle” for all of you (who bring it 1300 page views a recent week, in 90 countries!) to savor, absorb, to use as carrots and sticks to get you and children out into the WILD.

I’d've bought this book if only to be in the presence of a man who would prescribe kayaking and urges “radical amazement”.

Louv really won me with his line, “Clouds are nature’s poetry.”

The point of this new book is to chronicle all that is happening to bring about what Louv, a master of word-coinage, terms “THE HUMAN-NATURE REUNION.”

He introduces Nature-as-Partner, Nature-as-Design-Partner, and urges “Nature-assisted aging.”

Among Louv’s passions is the “Rewilding of cities and suburbs.”

He wins my heart, justification for the urgency of reconnecting humans and nature, because such programs are “linked to the health benefits of nearby nature.” Nearby nature being our theme song…

nearby nature:

Enraged Osprey, Lake Carnegie, Princeton — Brenda Jones

NJ WILD readers know that, from the beginning, I’ve been insisting upon walks, if kayaking isn’t possible near you.  Louv underlines that insistence:  “We were born to walk.  We need to keep moving.”

Who wouldn’t be keen on an author who posits the importance of “FREE-RANGE HABITAT FOR CHILDREN!” Why should chickens have all the fun?

The book is rich in programs underway, already succeeding, and with simple ideas for any family to follow, such as ‘MAKE THE GREEN HOUR A FAMILY TRADITION.’

As much as I love to write, I could stop altogether and just give you the Richard Louv quote of the day.  How about: “NATURE IS NOT A PLACE TO VISIT.  NATURE IS HOME.”

Nature is Home - ‘Our’ Eagle and Sculler, Lake Carnegie, Princeton  — Brenda Jones

You’ve heard/read all this before, over and over here, interlaced with images.

But I am not a coiner of phrases.  I do not have Louv’s savvy awareness of what piques 21st-Century curiosity and catalyzes memory.

Louv has been awarded the Audubon Medal, presented by the National Audubon Society, for his work on children and nature, in 2008.  Children and Nature Network has lobbied for changes in legislation in state after state, to mandate (isn’t it tragic that this is necessary?) outdoor time for our children.

“Ephemeral Beauty” — Great Egret — Brenda Jones

This wordsmith/phrasesmith is changing the world.

When he goes out in the woods himself, Louv frankly revels in doing what he urges us to do:  “Look up.  Marvel at the ephemeral beauty.”

He’s a big fan of turning off lights, streetlights, building lights, not only because they confuse migrant birds, causing millions of needless deaths of species threatened and otherwise each year.  He calls what those mercury vapor and other lamps do “STEALING STARLIGHT”. He advocates the “DARK SKY INITIATIVE.”

Geese Pass  Full Moon — Brenda Jones

Louv proposes “the creation of restorative transportation.”

This book is by no means all sweetness and light.  There is not much good that can be said for the direction of childhood today, toward increasing technocentricity.  “Today’s culture,” he asserts, “is frozen in time, obsessed with the immediate.”  “Right now, in our culture, we believe mainly in fear.”  He quotes naturalist/philosopher, Thomas Berry:  “Degraded habitat produces degraded humans.”

Above all, he quotes the eminently quotable, such as James Hubbell, asking, “CAN THERE BE A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE WITHOUT BEAUTY?”

NJ WILD readers know that, all too often, this 21st-Century world is too much with me.  NJ nature, wild New Jersey, is my constant antidote.

D&R Greenway is working day and night and weekends to preserve more than our twenty-two miles in this state which Rutgers says could well be the first to be completely built out.  That’s why I spend the preponderance of my indoor time within these 1900’s barn walls.

With Richard Louv in the world, I feel better.  Visions of his “New Agrarians” dance in my head.  I’ve already wovlen his “NEAR IS THE NEW FAR” into a post this week, with an eye toward skyrocketing gas prices.  Nearby nature, insists Louv, is “EVERYDAY EDEN.”

He asks that we “bring back a sense of sacredness to our relationship to the Earth.” How long has it been since you’ve been asked to consider the sacred…?   Richard Louv has become, –but would by no means claim this–, nature’s high priest, reminding that Nature is not only essential, but holy, wholly to be honored.

This Thanksgiving, I will be thankful for Richard Louv.

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WHEN FAR IS NEAR:

April Scenes An Hour or So from Princeton

GO WITH FRIENDS

SHARE THE GAS

APPRECIATE NEW JERSEY

AND ALL OF THESE        PRESERVED!

Beach Where Piping Plovers Will Soon Nest

Cape May Easter 2011

Reading Richard Louv’s newest book, “The Nature Principle”, on the reunion of humans with nature, I come across a phrase that describes all these years of NJ WILD for the Princeton Packet:  NEAR IS THE NEW FAR.

Constable Scene - Spizzle Creek Bird Blind, Island Beach

This is the week I’ve first seen gas at $4 per gallon for regular, the week a friend paid $54 to fill her tank at a reasonable station.

Bluebell Enchantment April 30, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve

All along, I’ve been insisting, New Jersey is rich in nearby natural beauty.  Maybe now, everyone will listen.  Adventure, remember, is right around the corner.

Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve is just across our beloved Delaware River, in Bucks County, just below New Hope.

Trillium/Bluebell Apotheosis - Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve today

Island Beach is less than 100 miles from here, just below Bay Head, Mantoloking and Lavalette.

Surf Fisherman, Bay Head, NJ - yesterday

Sandy Hook is just over a new bridge from Atlantic Highlands.

Tasha O’Neill and I in Bahrs (Restaurant) Window Across Bay from Sandy Hook -

two weeks ago

Each offers something rare, something I require - land’s end. Above all, Cape May is land’s end, for humans and for birds in migration.  Even the Cape May Bird Observatory is under 100 miles from my door.  I do all as day trips, but stayed this time in Cape May at the dear Jetty Motel - from which we can walk the beach at low tide to Cape May Lighthouse and the Hawk Watch Platform.

When we climbed these steps, ospreys were everywhere, fishing madly.

Kettles of vultures swirled overhead.

Kettles of vultures swirled overhead

one mute swan settled onto her nest in the reeds

full breeding plumage of one great egret lofted on the wind

and one peregrine zoomed

The peregrine falcon is the symbol of my April - for peregrinations are wanderings.  Short nearby nature journeys restore the soul, as I’ve written and written.  Richard Louv repeats and repeats this mantra.  Nature is no luxury.  It is essential.  The wild is neither remote nor extraneous.  It, too, is essential.  You can find wild nature in this state in a matter of minutes - even right along our Towpath.  But a sense of adventure remains imperative.

Wouldn’t you think I’d been far, far from here?  Instead:

Lenni Lenape Ancient Dugout Canoe

behind Bahrs Restaurant, on hem of Sandy Hook

wouldn’t you think I’d've been down South to find this sign last Friday?

FIRST ASPARAGUS OF THE SEASON

CAPE MAY COUNTY

We bought the asparagus from a woman who’d just picked it an hour ago on her farm.

Farmstand of Asparagus, Sweet Potatoes and Hydrangeas

Simple Seaside Supper at the Jetty Motel

New Friends Near Barnegat Bay, Island Beach - yesterday

New Fiddleheads Unfurl in Freshwater Pond near Ocean, Island Beach

Hopper Scene, Island Beach

Lobsterman’s Relic - Barnegat Bayshore, Island Beach

Island Beach is a true barrier beach, never built upon, pruned only by sea winds sometimes laden with salt, sand and/or snow.  History is everywhere there - fishermen, brigands, frigates, smugglers, Indians gathering clams, early whalers - as in Cape May.  Silence reigns at Island Beach.  True Pine Barrens plants burgeon.  Ferns unfurl magically in fresh peat water, only yards from the tumultuous ocean.

New Jersey WILD

On all of these nearby nature adventures, the spirit is renewed.

Majestic Trillium, Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, this morning