COLUMN: Trailing or Leading: MYPath wildflowers guide your way

Anyone who has needed to purchase flowers for a wedding, funeral, Mother's Day or as an "I'm sorry" offering knows that flowers are expensive. It is understandable, because flowers are beautiful, delicate and they don't last long.

What if I told you flowers can be enjoyed from spring until late fall, for free. Just don't pick them.

All along MYPath, a variety of flowers come out to show off and attract pollinators. Each week during our Wednesday walks, we take note of what new flowers are blooming and what others have stopped blooming for the year. And whether or not we have seen a monarch butterfly on one of them.

McCormick's Creek State Park hosts a Wildflower Weekend so visitors can experience the floral offerings spring provides. It is fun to take part in a guided wildflower walk in the park. There are areas near the canyon that have slightly acidic soil, which produces completely different flowers than other parts of the park.

Did you know different colors attract different kinds of pollinators? Other flowers bloom near the ground because their main pollinators are beetles that crawl, rather than fly. The variety of flowers is staggering.

This year, McCormick's Creek Wildflower Weekend is Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12. Check out the schedule of activities from the park. Please note that the Friday, April 10 event is NOT at McCormick's Creek.

The first wildflower walk of the weekend will be led by me, on the MYPath Trail System. Join us at 5:30 p.m. at the Owen County Soil and Water Conservation District headquarters, 788 Pottersville Road.

McCormick's Creek and MYPath have had this partnership for many years. I think we realize we will one day be connected, so why not practice sharing events now? I really look forward to it.

The challenge comes from when the actual flowers bloom. There is no button to push at either McCormick's Creek or MYPath to make flowers come out and perform. Flowers blossom on their own schedule.

As I am writing this column at the end of March, the only things blooming are dandelions. Dandelions are still an important early food source for any pollinators that have emerged. But I am pretty sure nobody comes to a wildflower event to look at dandelions.

Each year we have hosted the wildflower walk on MYPath, I spend the month fretting because I don't see anything of note. But then, on the week of the hike, the flowers start popping out. I try to make a list of what I have seen. During the walk on Friday, with the help of the participants, we often find even more.

Something participants will see this year are the new wayfinding signs along MYPath. Trail users may have noticed unpaved side trails. These side trails were established long before the path was paved.

You may have heard us refer to the "wetlands loop," or the "tree tube trail." Visitors will now feel a little more comfortable trying one of the side trails because there is a sign marking where it starts. The signs will be installed in early April.

The exciting thing about our wayfinding signs is that they incorporate wildflowers. Sign designer Bruce Morgan asked which wildflowers are prevalent on MYPath. Each sign includes a silhouette of wildflowers, based on the flowers you will see along MYPath.

Come out to MYPath to enjoy the wildflowers. Then, come out the next week and enjoy different wildflowers. And if you venture onto one of the side trails, you will see even different flowers than along the paved trail. New signs will help guide your way.