My Saturday photo-prowl took me to Emmon’s Preserve, a Kennebunkport Land Trust property along the banks of the Batson River, with a couple of loop trails through forest and along the stream. Though our season is advanced, due to the abnormally mild winter, things were still pretty quiet in the forest along the Batson. Which is why these small green and brown mottled leaves, in colonies, caught the eye. Now, I am not absolutely sure, but this looks like the beginnings of Trout Lily or Adder’s Tongue Violet (the same plant). If so we are going to have a lot of Trout Lily in southern Maine this year, if the deer don’t eat them all before they flower. Though I may have seen individual plants in Maine in the past, this kind of abundance is unique. They bloom early, so I will have to get back to Emmon’s soon to find out if these really are Adder’s Tongue. Any of the spreads of new leaves I saw, if matured to full bloom, would be quite a sight!

Canon SX40HS at 24mm equivalent field of view, and macro. Program with iContrast and -1/3EV exposure compensation. Processed in Lightroom for intensity, clarity and sharpness.

As you see, I was right down on the ground for this shot, and only centimeters from the leaf. I focused on the leaf and then reframed to put it off center in the image.