Hepatica redux, BB

The drizzle did not stop me. Duty called. I needed one more tune-up hike on the new Benedict Benson Preserve—the very place I would be leading a group of fellow travelers tomorrow right after the dedication ceremonies for the newest gem in the Avalonia Land Conservancy crown. The first thing I discovered was that the trail, uncompleted earlier in the week, was done and beautifully marked, so everyone would know how to navigate. The second thing I discovered was a vernal pool I'd missed, and moss and wildflower gardens that were just coming into their own. The third discovery was this: a completely unexpected patch of Hepatica that, on reflection, I should have figured would be part of the Preserve's flora. The reason was simple: there was plenty of evidence of quartz along the hilly part of the trail, and if a botanist who'd pointed me in the right Hepatica direction along the Blue-blazed Trail earlier was correct, quartzite soil is just what the Hepatica doctor ordered for the plant's success. Here, at Benson, were likely to be the same sweet conditions, and here, in the cleft of a White Oak, was proof. Amazing! For more than two decades, I'd been searching for a plant I was beginning to think was mythical—in less than a week, I'd found it in two different, albeit fairly nearby, places. Maybe virtue is rewarded... well, sometimes.