Saturday, May 7: The Weekly Photo Challenge: Earth invites us to share: On this day, between the global Earth Day celebration, and Mother’s Day in the United States, share your vision of our glorious Mother Earth.
To celebrate the earth, here’s a walk among the skunk cabbage carpeting the Difficult Run Stream Valley along the Fairfax Country Cross-County Trail.
Skunk cabbage is a flowering perennial that is one of the first plants to emerge in spring, especially in woodlands, wetlands and near streams.
Apparently, skunk cabbage gets its name from the unpleasant odor it emanates. The scent attracts pollinators that are attracted to rotting meat.
I do have to say I didn’t smell anything unpleasant on our walk. 🙂
It’s amazing how the earth is a living, breathing system that abides on its own terms, beyond our understanding.
Happy Earth Day and Mother’s Day! 🙂
Happy Mother’s day from Poland, Cathy! X
Happy Mother’s Day to you too, Jo! I hope you’re having a fabulous day! 🙂
right oN! 🙂
Thanks so much, quarksire! 🙂
that is a huge amount of skunk cabbage! Did you see any of the purplish shoots/flowers at the base of the plant? Those might convey the scent. I saw a significant amount of skunk cabbage recently but only very few actually had the flower – don’t know why that was. Hope you had a great Mother’s Day.
I couldn’t believe how much skunk cabbage there was in the stream bed, Annette. I didn’t see any purplish shoots at the base. Maybe it was too early, or too late?? I had a lovely Mother’s Day; none of my kids were around, but I’ll see them all tomorrow for my daughter’s graduation from VCU! Happy weekend! 🙂
I had to laugh about this post. Growing up in New Jersey, I lived across the street from ‘the woods’ (as we kids called it), which was loaded with skunk cabbage. After a good rain, the skunk cabbage smelled to high heaven–and the smell always emanated across the street to our house! Nasty smelling stuff. Thanks for the memory. 😀
I’m so glad you got a laugh out of my skunk cabbage post! Funny that it didn’t smell like anything when we walked through. I wonder if there is only a certain time during its life when it emanates that stinky smell. Thanks so much for visiting and commenting. 🙂