We’ve had a pretty harsh winter, with two significant snow storms and a stretch of extremely cold weather (for North Georgia, anyway), so I was not expecting much action at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain in mid-February, but it was a beautiful day and I wanted an excuse to get out, so my wife and I headed down to The Pocket after lunch.  It was pretty much as expected – signs of coming spring, but no floral action, even though this is almost 2 weeks later than the first flowers I found last year.  The falls was pretty, though, and worth the walk:

The Falls in the Pocket at Pigeon Mountain

Following are a few photos of the “signs of spring:”

Basal leaves of a Toothwort, probably Cardamine angustata.

Just as expected – the leaf of the Puttyroot Orchid – Aplectrum hyemale – starting to wither before it dries up entirely for the bloom in May.

Aquilegia canadensis” src=”https://journal.uswildflowers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DSC_6978C-500×331.jpg” alt=”Eastern Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis” width=”500″ height=”331″> While it likely won’t bloom for about 6 weeks, the leaves of Eastern Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis – are showing up early.

This was a mild surprise – I half-expected to find a blooming Harbinger of Spring – Erigenia bulbosa. But all I found was the new foliage.

It’s noteworthy that while passable, the road into The Pocket is partially blocked by downed trees from last week’s snowstorm, and a very large tree is down in the parking lot.

Also, I’ve got some other commitments this spring that mean my reports on the wildflower status at The Pocket will be a bit sketchy this year.