Cattails

Typha  is a genus of about 30 species  of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae.  The genus has a largely Northern Hemisphere  distribution, but is essentially cosmopolitan, being found in a variety of wetland  habitats. These plants have many common names. They may be known in Britain as bulrush, or reedmace,  United States as cattail, catninetail, punks, or corndog grass, in Australia as cumbungi or bulrush, in Canada as bulrush or cattail, and in New Zealand as raupo.

The rhizomes are edible. Evidence of preserved starch grains on grinding stones  suggests they were eaten in Europe 30,000 years ago

Getting A Drink

A fair number of years ago my younger son and I were swimming near where Elijah is getting himself a drink. For about five to ten minutes we enjoyed a great swim in the clear pleasant waters and then we noticed a flurry of swimming leeches heading our way giving a momentary sense of being participants in a Stephen King short story.  We got out of the water quickly enough - but I've never tried it again.

The Island in the Lake

Island Lake

Small Fresh Water Slough

The definition of slough seems to suggest a stagnant low lying area but I have always used it to include small marshy areas like this that have a small rill of fresh water running through - this was taken on my hike out to Island Lake.