River, Ridge and ...Roadside??

I spent this past Sunday after church hiking along the Little Bluestone River near Camp Creek State Park and Brush Creek Nature Preserve. I was hoping to find a few more wild flowers that would get me to the 300+ mark for wild flowers photographed and identified in one calendar year. I had long thought that along the river, there would be several different flowers that I had not found at home. At first it was all Asters and Goldenrod just like everywhere else. But then I found several flowers that are fairly common but I had not seen yet. They had just about finished blooming.

#298- Wingstem

The first was Wingstem, a plant very similar to Yellow Crown Beard,
which I had found close to home. I started seeing the distinct winged stems but no flowers but also noticed the leaves were alternate rather than opposite, so I began to search in earnest. I finally found a bloom or two that were almost gone.

#299- Mild Water Pepper

The next flower was one of the Smartweeds, but the wide open flowers made it hard to pin down, but I believe that it is Mild Water Pepper.



I found these two box turtles and the back one had gotten himself in to trouble with his lady friend and needed to be rolled off his back. I'm not sure if she smacked him over backwards or he was just awkward.

                                                      Little Bluestone River

A wildflower that I believe is an Aster, but I can not nail down the identity. It has a periwinkle blue center and petals. 

#300- Zigzag Goldenrod

After the river, I swung by Camp Creek State Park  and hiked up the Mash Creek Falls Trail. There I found a Broad Leaved or Zigzag Goldenrod, which makes number 300 for the year. This one is an easy ID, but before this year it was just another one of those yellow fall flowers. So the "Big Year"  has forced me to learn much more about many of the wildflowers that I have always enjoyed.

#301- American Bell Flower

I then ran across American Bell Flower along the road to Mash Fork Falls. I have found many, many flowers just cruising slowly along forest and back roads in my region.

#302- Tick Trefoil (non-native)

Fungi from Camp Creek