Sugarcreek Metropark

Wednesday
An overcast morning gave way to a sunny afternoon, though it was rather cool. In the early afternoon we headed up to Sugarcreek Metropark, near Bellbrook, one of the Dayton area’s Five Rivers Metroparks. This was our first visit, and it turned out to be a great hike, 5.3 miles, with lots of wildflowers and a couple of creeks to cross. Two of the stream crossings were fine, with large flat boulders for stepping stones, however the third one, three of the stepping stones weren’t quite high enough after the recent rain we’ve had, and I ended up with wet feet! The main picture in my collage is the Osage tunnel. In the early 1800s, before the invention of barbed wire, Osage Orange trees were often planted as a “living fence” or hedge along farm boundaries. The thorny saplings were aggressively pruned to promote bushy growth. Later, the trees were prized for fence posts and rail road timbers, the dark yellow wood being so strong and dense that it won’t rot for decades. The strong, yet flexible branches are said to make some of the best bows for archery. The bright green softball-sized fruit, sometimes referred to as Monkey brains, are sought after by squirrels. A distinctive growth habit of these trees is the repeatedly arching branches that hang low at the ends, with the dead interior branches persisting due to the rot-resistant wood, creating beautiful tunnels. The wildflowers in my collage are, anti clockwise from bottom left, Celandine poppy, May apple, White trillium, Fire pinks and white bluebells.

Step count: 12,761