The Georgia Botanical Garden doesn't consist solely of gardens; there are also scores of acres of wild terrain: forest and wetland. Several trails, suitable for walking or running, have been cleared through this bit of wilderness. I often go for a short hike on one of these trails when I need to think or get away from people (and often these needs go in tandem). My favorite trail, the Orange Trail, begins right in the main parking lot. It follows a creek through an ever-deepening ravine for its first several hundred yards. On either side of the creek, hardwood forest shelters wildlife I often hear but seldom see: squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, and (if I'm lucky) deer.
Below, some denizens of the creek:
And here's a stump I found beside the creek; I just thought it looked neat, is all.
Eventually the creek flows into a level area where it divides and diffuses into a boggy wetland. I like to come here around mid-morning and listen to the frogs: deep thrumming like a wash-tub bass. Much of the wetland is a sea of arrowroot surrounding the naked trunks of dead trees:
The wetlands gather the waters from the hills and drain them into the Oconee River. The Oconee is a muddy-looking river, but it looks deep enough for canoeing, which I hope to try at some point:
Here's another butterfly!
And to keep it company, a dragonfly:
Some obligatory flowers:
Finally, it seems that Jonathan's barn isn't the only place plagued by privet. The Garden folk are trying to clear the privet out of the woods, chopping it down, mulching it, and spraying the rest with an herbicide. A fun fact: privet can affect "herps"! Proofread, guys, proofread.
Below, some denizens of the creek:
And here's a stump I found beside the creek; I just thought it looked neat, is all.
Eventually the creek flows into a level area where it divides and diffuses into a boggy wetland. I like to come here around mid-morning and listen to the frogs: deep thrumming like a wash-tub bass. Much of the wetland is a sea of arrowroot surrounding the naked trunks of dead trees:
The wetlands gather the waters from the hills and drain them into the Oconee River. The Oconee is a muddy-looking river, but it looks deep enough for canoeing, which I hope to try at some point:
Here's another butterfly!
And to keep it company, a dragonfly:
Some obligatory flowers:
Finally, it seems that Jonathan's barn isn't the only place plagued by privet. The Garden folk are trying to clear the privet out of the woods, chopping it down, mulching it, and spraying the rest with an herbicide. A fun fact: privet can affect "herps"! Proofread, guys, proofread.
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