I Got A Little Off Course...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mneRuhgEUbI   <~~~~~~~Video

 I got a bit off course this morning on a trail walk with our dog, Carly. We were out over 3 hours. It got cloudy fast and we had gotten some rain during the night or early morning hours.  It left the woods very drippy and moist.  Carly is a Golden Retriever and has a great sense of direction. She is almost 13 years old and this was a little too much for her.   I usually do pretty good with direction and I had asked about this trail but I either misunderstood or was given wrong information.  It was a nice trail to hike for me but after nearly 2 hours out on a strange trail Carly stops and looks at me like, "are you crazy?" She doesn't want to budge and we are several miles from where we started. We opted to turn around at her nudging. But before we did turn around I got this nice video clip of a Pipevine swallowtail feeding on milkweed in an over grown field somewhere in the middle of Beckley, WV., that we crossed through.  This was not my best idea and though we got out safely it could have been potentially dangerous.  I will not do that again! 


A hornets nest that was well hidden in the middle of these dark woods.

 

http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Monotropa%20uniflora





http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Monotropa%20uniflora I had no idea what these were called and I found a picture of something similar on this site.  Ghost flowers!  They look like mushroom flowers to me!

 

This flower is Nightshade,( Carolina Horse Nettle, Bull Nettle, Devil's Tomato)

 

 

Honey bee enjoying some milkweed http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Asclepias%20syriaca.

Wild Wonderful West Virginia!

I was eager to hit the trails after a long day of driving to West Virginia. It was not such a difficult drive, it is always just so hard for me to leave family, friends, the forest, lakes and streams of our home in Sewanee and turn it over to the house sitter. This time the animals came along so I have no worries about leaving them. And I have my trail buddy, Miss Carly, in tow. And of course I was heading to be with my husband! It's nice to be torn between wonderful places!
Our outdoor adventures began a bit later than I had hoped, due to a rainy morning. But I have my new water shoes for the muddy spots and the skies had begun to clear off nicely, so we ventured out. My excitement immediately exploded with wildflower sightings and then a plethora of black and yellow swallowtail butterflies appeared in an area covered in one of my father’s favorite wild flowers, Milkweed ( Silkweed - Asclepias syriaca) and Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium maculatum). Both Milkweed and Joe-Pye weed are tall growing, with a cluster of mauve pink blossoms and they are rugged perennials that the butterflies seem to savor. Like most woodland plants, these wildflowers prefers moist soil to dry and today they were nicely moist at their roots as I stood in the mush to take photos. And I loved every minute of it! Another interesting find for me was a very medium size blossom in soft pink to almost fuchsia. I investigated the plant and noticed fruit growing on it! I was so excited and amazed to see wild raspberries! I am an avid blackberry and dew berry picker but I have never come across wild raspberries. At least that is what I believe these are! I took a chance with what I know about berries and tasted one of these on my second outing for the day. With only a slight bit of trepidation I picked one for a taste. I gently put it to my lip squeezed it a bit then went in for a tiny taste. It was somewhat sweet but still fairly sour. I did a bit of research when I got back to the computer and I believe they were wild raspberries. I haven’t died yet from a poison berry! But I have spent a lifetime in the woods and outdoors. I would never suggest to someone who is not aware of vegetation or berry types to ever try a berry in the wild. And never try berries that the birds don’t eat. That is a sure sign that the berries are not edible! As I always try to do we squeezed in two one hour (or longer) hikes today! The evening was sunny and cooler. I was amazed as the evening went on that our temperature in Beckley dropped considerably. By dinner time it was 66 and on its way down to a possible 55! Wow! I had to pinch myself! Is it summer in West Virginia?

 

Pipevine Swallowtail

Three Pipevine Swallowtails!



 

 

 

 

I believe that these are wild raspberries blossoms!

http://uswildflowers.com/detail.php?SName=Rubus%20odoratus

 

Wild Raspberries?