In our one hundred and ten year old neighborhood, two of our neighbors are cemeteries, one for protestants and one for Catholics. Religious segregation for burial was very common in the 19th century. Highland Cemetery, developed by prominent protestants from Covington, Kentucky in1869, is 250 acres, and Saint Mary’s Cemetery, founded by Irish Catholics from Covington’s St. Mary’s Parish in 1870, is 89 acres. They are ideal neighbors: Quiet, well maintained greenspaces that provide a home for nature.
Highland Cemetery has a collection of trails on its wooded hillsides that are open to the public. They are a terrific community resource when you need a quick outdoors fix or are trying to get a different setting for your cardio walk. We selected the Screech Owl Trail as it appeared to go through a mid-aged woodland, which should offer up some spring wildflowers, and because we had never hiked it.
The start of the hike begins at the trailhead for the Black Squirrel Trail and labors down a challenging grade full of trip hazards. The descent parallels a running creek.
Shortly after the Black Squirrel Trail crosses the creek, the Screech Owl Trail branches off, heading north, midway up a hillside. In itself, it is a loop trail that will return to this point. The trees in this part of the wood are somewhat unusual for Northern Kentucky, with a surprising number of Buckeye and Linden. Perhaps the Lindens had escaped the manicured parkland setting of the cemetery, as there are several mature Linden specimens at Highland Cemetery. Lindens were frequently planted in parks and cemeteries in the early twentieth century. Also seen were some leafless Pawpaws displaying their one inch, meat colored flowers, which are fascinating and bland at the same time – perhaps the most bland blossom of the spring. Interestingly, Pawpaw blossoms are described as having the scent of rotten meat, a suitable attractant for the carrion flies that pollinate them.
Shortly after entering the loop of the trail, taking the clockwise route, we noted a few of these unique flowers – Wild Hyacinth, as seen in the title photo and below.
While they occur across Kentucky, as well as the Ohio and Mississippi River watersheds, they are considered “uncommon”. To be honest, I could not recall the last time we had seen them actively flowering. And then we turned a bend in the trail and saw that the entire hillside was covered with them.
My wildflower field guide mentioned that when found, they can be “locally abundant”. They were indeed so here. The only disappointment is that they are not fragrant like the ornamental varieties of hyacinth.
They ranged in color from white to light lavender.
We continued on the trail, seeing other wildflowers. Another somewhat rare one was this yellow violet. This is a Yellow Woodland Violet. Its flower was held high, about eight inches above the forest floor, a unusual finding for the violet family. It is considered “uncommon” and this was the only specimen that we saw along the trail. Its tell-tale findings are a single “kidney-shaped” leaf along the ground (not seen in the photo), and then the flower and “heart-shaped” leaves held high, 4-12 inches, above the ground. Apparently it helps to know anatomy when identifying plants.
As the loop turned and started to head back we noted that the Mayapples were more mature than those that we saw earlier on the trail and were flowering. The difference probably due to sun exposure, with those in the valley getting more afternoon spring sun. If you look closely you can see the single white flowers below some of the umbrella like leaves in the photo below.
This photo shows the view that most of us get of the shy flowers on the trail.
But after completing several yoga positions the photographer was able to capture this photo. The April flower will be followed by a gumball size seed pod in May – the “Mayapple”.
Another wildflower that was abundant on this hike was Woodland Phlox.
I particularly like to note the dark color of its eye which can vary quite a bit amongst specimens.
The final “Peak Performer” was Larkspur. Its intense purple was seen across the woodland floor.
Other late ephemerals that we enjoyed seeing included:
Spring Beauty and Star Chickweed – Spring Beauties have been flowering since mid-March and we were now in late April.
Dwarf Cinquefoil and Toadshade Trillium – the Cinguefoil can be confused with wild strawberry.
Marsh Blue Violet and Cream Violet – note the “hairy” appendages in both flowers. They arise from the base of the side petals and prevent rainwater from entering the flower and diluting the nectar.
Ragwort – it is a native of Europe but is not invasive – meaning it does not displace native plants. Pollinators love this import. The “rag” part of its name refers to the shagginess of its leaves. But it is also known as Mare’s Fart and Stinking Nellie due to the unpleasant smell of its leaves.
When one thinks about spring wildflowers we tend to think of them as isolated specimens, but that is not how they occur. Rather they are members of a community, as seen in this photo, which shows the remaining fern-like leaves of Dutchman’s Breeches that flowered previously weeks ago, the actively flowering Woodland Phlox, and the tropical looking leaves of Solomon’s Seal that will be displaying bell shaped white flowers along its stem soon – a botanical menagerie.
In addition to the Solomon’s Seal, another plant that will be flowering soon is Wild Ginger. It is a relatively primitive plant that has a rather basic flower at its base. You can see some buds waiting to open in the the photo below (red arrows). Even when they are open you have to look hard to notice them.
Lastly we wanted to share with you the most diminutive of wildlife – a Red Velvet Mite noted on the edge of a Red Oak leaf on the forest floor – very tiny, yet invaluable to the ecosystem. If you notice it has eight legs so it is a member of the arachnid family, like spiders. Their larval form will parasitize insects and other arachnids to keep their populations in check. They spend much of their life in the forest soil and are an important part of healthy soils. They are of no danger to humans.
And one final photo, of a plaque that was on a Leopold bench along the path. It summarizes much of what I think about when I am on a footpath. I’m impressed that Aldo Leopold would reference television so early, before it was so commonplace in our culture, as he died in 1948.
In summary, this was another fun outing on the trails at Highland Cemetery. Venues like these are easy to take for granted, until you are awestruck by an unexpected sighting like the hillside full of Wild Hyacinth that we saw on this hike. We are nearing the end of the spring ephemeral wildflower season, so find a woodland path, take in the flower show, and discover your own surprises.
Footpathsblog.com posts are released every Sunday morning and some bonus content is added periodically. Please click on a social media icon above to follow for future posts and to make sure that you catch all our reflections on, and adventures with, the great outdoors.
Overview:
Location – Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, on Dixie Highway, just south of I-75. When you enter the cemetery pass the office and overseer’s house and stay to the right. You will pass two metal work buildings and then a road will branch off downhill with a pond on the right. Take that road and go up over the small ridge. Eventually parking will be seen on the left. There are maps at the trailhead,
Print Map Link – https://highlandcemeterysite.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/trail-map-2-2015.pdf
Parking – asphalt lot for 6-7 cars.
Trail Condition – moderately difficult trail with a descent to begin the trail that contains some trip hazards. The remainder of the trail is clear. Creeks are crossed four times on foot. The trails are well marked.
Facilities – none
Benches – numerous
Kids – 5 and over should do well here
Dogs – Welcomed but only on the nature trails, with or without a leash. Not in the cemetery itself.
Links: