What a difference a few weeks with some warm weather makes! On Feb 13 we made a trip to The Pocket and there was still a little snow on the ground and no sign even of Harbinger of Spring. I made a quick trip down to The Pocket this morning to check on the status, and the wildflower season has begun! Read on…
Sharp-lobed Hepatica – Hepatica nobilis
Work and grandkid schedule have left time only for a quick trip down to The Pocket on Wednesday evening. My primary purpose was to determine if the Bellwort down there is Large-flowered or Perfoliate (mission accomplished.) We also took a spin around the boardwalk and made a trip north of the parking area, but did not get up the horse trail toward the falls, so I’m unable to update the status of flowers found along that trail.
Wild Geranium – Geranium maculatum
We made a quick trip down to The Pocket on Tuesday evening. We made a short 100-yard walk up the horse trail and took a spin around the boardwalk, so I’m unable to update the status of flowers found along the trail to the falls, but here’s what I’ve got.
Wild Blue Phlox from 04/06/2010
In summary: This will be a good weekend at The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, especially since tomorrow is forecast to be sunny and warm, as was today.
Aquilegia canadensis - Columbine from 04/01/2010
On Saturday I participated in the Georgia Botanical Society outing to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain, led by Mike Christison. I’m a new member of the BotSoc, as they call it, and this membership in this organization is already paying dividends in many ways. In addition to showing me two more wildflowers sites on Pigeon Mountain, I picked up two new species at The Pocket. One of those was the Roundleaf Yellow Violet.
Roundleaf Yellow Violet
Common chickweed, a non-native species considered by some to be invasive or weedy, has been added to the USWildflowers.com database. Scientific name is Stellaria media.
Common Chickweed - Stellaria media
Cindy and I headed down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain around 4:30 Friday afternoon. I knew the light would be failing on the Shirley Miller Wildflower Trail soon after we arrived, but I was committed for Saturday, and wanted to make sure I was able to make a weekly report on the wildflower status during the spring season. If you’re into watching the seed-formation process, this is a good time for you. There is still an abundance of wildflowers in The Pocket, making a trip absolutely worthwhile, but of the “signature flowers,” Virginia bluebell and wood poppy are past blooming or almost so, and the bent trillium is abundant but in decline. The dominant species in the boardwalk area is probably the wild hyacinth, with the wild geranium still providing a pink splash around much of the trail.
To avoid crowds like those that were on the Shirley Miller Trail at The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain last week, I headed down there early Saturday morning, arriving at the parking area shortly after 8 AM. The sky was overcast, but the wind was low – a good situation for wildflower photography. My first stop was the dogwood tree beside the parking area.
Due to rain and obligations, it had been 9 days since I’d been down to The Pocket at Pigeon Mountain. Today was the Chattanooga Valley Presbyterian Church’s Keen-agers’ annual (I think) wildflower hike at The Pocket, so at 10 AM I joined the other folks in my age group at the church, and soon we headed on down to Pigeon Mountain. I returned from the hike with 381 photographs; two of them with people in them. After an initial run through the photographs, I’ve deleted about 150 of them; both photos of people remain.
Long-Spurred Violet
I only have time for a quick post, so I’ll list what I found… Continue reading