Manhan Flowers

Friday afternoon we hit the Manhan Rail Trail in Easthampton for a quick run. The sun was sinking fast into a line of fuzzy clouds as the predicted weekend's rains were coming our way.



We figured we still had plenty of time before the rain came, to bike the 4.5 mile trail.



So much time in fact, we stopped here and there to do some flower watching. The Manhan seems to have an abundance of wildflowers along it's length. I wonder if they were planted on purpose, or maybe seeds were just scattered along the trail by some thoughtful person...?



Here's a sampling of what we found, along with some best guesses as to their identities:

Yellow Wood Sorrels...



Ragged Robins...



White Campions...



Yellow Flag Irises...



Couldn't find this one in my book, but the long upward pointing seedpods indicate it's some sort of wild mustard, maybe a Dames Rocket...?



And another guess, is this is a (blackberry) bramble...?



Continuing on with the ride...Impending rain usually brings good fishing, as these two guys were attempting to certify, on Lower Mill Pond just off the trail:



This is an interesting new addition to the trail; a see-thru, holographic-like image from the trail from it's railroad days.



Ghosts now, watching over the skateboarders on their line....



Then we felt a couple raindrops, which spurred us back into motion. We hurried back down the trail to the car, getting there in the nick of time.