~ labor day in the woods ~

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South Mountains State Park....

High Shoals Falls Trail.......

~it's cold~

~splash~

~rattlesnake orchid foliage~

~under the rodedendrons~ 

~cardinal flower~

~moss waterfall~

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~carrie~

~ sunday hike: mcdowell nature preserve ~

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Well, we decided to take our Sunday Hike on Saturday,

and I decided I didn't feel like posting it until Wednesday.

We hiked the Shady Hollow Trail at McDowell Nature Preserve,

and then connected with the Cove Trail, 

for a nice, long (for kids) hike.

We found some of the first Spring ephemeral wildflowers!

I could go on and on about these, 

but I think I'll save botanical stuff for a separate post.  

Maybe I'll even get an in-focus picture of these little beauties, eh? 

Daddy knocks on this hollowed out tree to see if anyone is home.

It looks like the perfect flying squirrel residence, but we didn't see anyone.

Dead standing trees, called snags, are a very important part of the ecosystem.

Winter allows you to gaze through the forest.

This forest is not that old, 

but the fact that it isn't choked with saplings and invasive species is a good thing.

We come down the hill and walk along the shore of Lake Wylie for the rest of the hike.

Lela and Liv ran ahead, while Laurel took her time to poke among the stumps at the water's edge.

We pause to play and explore in a little cove.

Lela has found a catkin of some sort, washed up on the shore.

It was a bit more of a reddish color than this picture shows.

Many different trees produce flowers like these, and they're a lot of fun to play with!

In the little cove, the banks are steep and covered with beautiful mosses and lichens.

Their forms are exquisite and near-endless in variation. 

Below, little reproductive stalks lift the moss spores above the fray. 

Mosses have an other-worldly quality, at least to me.

I get my nose as close down to them as eyesight will allow,

and notice spider silk floating over what I imagine are tiny trails and burrows.

I feel as if I could stare at it for hours, 

gently probing,

and feel certain a little faery would poke her head up.

The mosses and lichens crowd each other, 

growing as closely to one another as they can.

Lichens are a fungus and an algae, growing together for mutual gain.

I imagine that their cooperative spirit is contagious, 

and the resulting neighborhood is friendly and helpful.

Maybe this little lichen sends up its little spore stalk (the cup-like object near the middle)

that can also double as a bird-bath for tiny faery-birds.

I can definitely see little pixies lounging around this acorn cap hot tub!

I have to move on from my magical macro world,

and unscrunch my back and legs.

Zelda is always watchful, and keeps her eyes on the girls.

She's just about the best dog in the world!

Laurel finds more spring wildflowers!

  A beaver scent mound marks territory....we're getting close to their dams! 

  

About the point on our hike, I ripped the end of my toe badly with a stick.

My eagerness to wear my Chacos on this warm afternoon.......

Walking around in a bloody sandal (yuck) 

meant that I missed taking pictures of the vast beaver activity along the creek.

Another post.....

Even more spring ephemerals!

I will be sharing more about these beauties soon.

  

 We rounded off our hike with a few minutes of creek exploration.....

 ......and grapevine swinging!

This is such a great park! 

If you're in the Charlotte area, you should definitely visit McDowell Nature Preserve!

~carrie~

~ where the moss droops down ~

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The end of July/beginning of August found our family camping

on the Chesapeake Bay, at First Landing State Park.

Formerly named Seashore State Park,

it was renamed to reflect it being the location where European explorers arrived first.

The set foot on the sand beaches, braced by wild, forested dunes.

(Parts of The New World movie with Colin Farrell were filmed here.

My underwhelmingly-impressed spouse declined the invitation to meet him.)

We swam in the beautiful, calm waters of the bay, 

as you can see in this post,

but we also visited the incredible freshwater cypress swamp.

 ~ bald cypress and spanish moss growing at their most northerly latitudes ~

 ~ freshwater swamps provided water for native peoples and european explorers alike ~

 ~ looking like tree stumps, worn by time or perhaps beavers, bald cypress 'knees' are part of the root system and provide stability for the tree, and important habitat for other plants and animals ~

 ~ bald cypress trail in the park has many boardwalks ~

 ~ spanish moss hangs abundantly and gracefully from the bald cypress trees ~

 ~ ephiphytic spanish moss is actually in the bromeliad family ~

 ~ from personal experience, i can tell you not to play with spanish moss, or risk chiggers ~

 ~ i loved the beautiful roots of this beech tree, reaching out from the side of the forested dune ~

 ~ delicate and beautiful cranefly orchid ~

 ~ one of many deleterious side trails in the park, we encouraged the children to *not* explore for fear of damaging this rare habitat ~

It was so special to be able to share this place with the girls.

I am always in awe of such a wild and primitive place,

just minutes away from the busy resort area of Virginia Beach.

I'm so grateful for the protection of state parks and nature preserves.

~carrie~