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If nature laughs in flowers.... then this is a hilarious time of year!
Thompson Preserve's native flower meadow - full of Black-eyed Susans and Wild Bergamot is in full bloom right now (!), and Greenway Meadow's slope is off to a beautiful start. Cedar Ridge and Hobler Park should be close behind.
Lifted from Diane Ackerman's poem at Greenway Meadows.... it's time to delight in "the pretty pandemonium of skitter and bloom!"
Here are a few of the footpaths with the best senses of humor :-)
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Thompson Preserve
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This farm preserve's native Black-eyed Susans and Wild Bergamot will tower over you in July, as though saluting you on your way to the stream beaches or dramatic old stone railroad bridge. The native flower prairie nests in the heart of the preserve, several pastures in. It acts as the gateway between level countryside and hilly woods with a huckleberry …
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If the great meadow were the entirety of this preserve, it would be a phenomenal destination. But instead, that marvelous sloping pollinator extravaganza presides over: an allee of vintage sycamores, dozens of thought provoking poems on permanent display along the pathways, a butterfly garden, a picnic area, soccer fields, a gallery, outdoor sculpture, a labyrinth, playgrounds for various age groups, …
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The expansive recreation lawn, brand new playground and large gazebo with plush BBQs come into view when you pull into the large parking lot. The wonderfully intricate and naturally ornamental sculptures reveal themselves only as you set off into the nature trails. Ditto for the trickling brook. DIRECTIONS
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There's an epic aura to this place - Sherwood Forest meets the Serengeti. Trails start from either Van Dyke or Stony Brook Roads; and either way you begin at a grand meadow before detailing along streams and original stone walls through the woods. The vast meadow (aka the Serengeti) at the Stony Brook end is not to be missed - …
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stay in the footpathing loop!
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