Spring On The Alvar Posted on May 9, 2007 at 02:01:26 AM by Bob Bowles
The Carden Alvar was in bloom this week with the white flowers of early saxifrage, the yellow flowers of early buttercup and the pink flowers of prairie smoke. Shrubs in bloom included fragrant sumac, pin cherry, and alderleaf juneberry. Field chickweed and barren strawberry were just starting to bloom. Songs of upland sandpipers, brown thrashers, Eastern bluebirds, Eastern towhees, and Wilson’s snipes drifted across the open alvar while spring azure, mourning cloak, and Eastern comma butterflies visited the plants in bloom. Spring has come to the alvar and next week we will have a host of a completely different set of flowers in bloom. Spring moves quickly on the alvar and many flowers will have bloomed by mid-June. Replies: