Visiting Spring Garden (In Not-Quite-Yet-Spring)
I love Ojibway Park in Windsor, Ontario and have extensively visited its forest and prairie land. Until this Monday however, I haven't visited an unconnected plot of land known as "Spring Garden Natural area," which is also part of the Ojibway Park complex.
The Spring Garden is a 289 acre plot that was purchased by the City of Windsor in 1999. A walking/cycling trail winds through it. According to the Ojibway Park website "Many rare, threatened and endangered species of plants and animals inhabit Spring Garden such as Purple Twayblade Orchid, American Chestnut, Colic-root, Dense Blazing Star, Wild Indigo Duskywing butterfly, Duke's Skipper, Red-headed Woodpecker and Grey Fox.
Spring Garden features oak savanna and woodland, dry prairie, buttonbush swamp and a wetland in the form of an old lagoon. Formerly the area was much more open but trees have invaded many sites"
It also happens that the rather rare Massasauga Rattlesnake and the endangered Eastern Fox Snake have made their home there.
It was beautiful and I am very enamored by the habitat. We have a lot of nice natural areas in Essex County, but it is astounding that I have not as of yet spent any time in this one! I'm also glad I got there before snow came once again. That said, I only count this winter visit to the Spring Garden a "half visit" and I look forward to visiting the site in Spring.
While walking back to my car, I saw my second wolf spider of the year!
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