Water Hemlock

I'm always a little surprised in the spring to see how many cherry trees there are around when they all come into bloom at the same time.   Same thing this time of year when the elderberry bushes are all blooming.  There are bushes with white flower clusters spotting the countryside everywhere.   Plus, because the milkweed is beginning to bloom, the air smells wonderful.   Not everything w/ umbels of white flowers right now, though, is elderberry.    I noticed white flowers out on the west side of the meadow.  That's where I've seen water hemlock other years.   Whip and I jumped into Jormungandr to take a closer look.  It didn't look that wet along the path but when I jumped out, my shoes were underwater.  Well, hemlock does prefer marshy areas.  Up close easy to see these were not elderberry.  I've never checked to see if they have a fragrance.  Since all parts of the plant are poisonous, I don't want to take a chance that stopping to smell the flowers could make me sick.