The last hike we went on sent a shock of green to my eyes. Even though May started out on the cool side the woods have once again taken on their dazzling green dress of summer.
One wooded area had an understory carpeted with ferns. The green was so pretty it almost brought tears to my eyes.
There was a buzzing of bees and bugs everywhere we went like the world had suddenly awoke from its winter sleep.
There were changes in the forest like this tree that had come down sometime recently. It made a dandy bridge for crossing the creek…well for those of us who wanted to cross the creek without getting wet. You know the girls were in the creek looking for rocks.
See the pile of rocks with the trees growing up through them? Pap told me this area used to be filled with corn every year. The rocks were piled at the edge of the field as the plow tore them from the earth.
Finally the tadpoles were out at the first wet weather spring as you head up the creek. I was beginning to wonder if they’d ever show up this year.
Drop back by tomorrow and I’ll show you one more thing we found on our hike.
Tipper
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I so enjoyed looking at all that beautifulness , that green is a delight to see so many different shades of it .Being in the creek would have been so fun too….I was trying to visualize what that area might have looked like with the corn and how many hands picked up and piled each rock right there in that spot..I ‘m so glad to see the bees too. As kids we were always looking for those tadpoles. Thanks for sharing those lovely pictures.
Thanks for taking us along on your hike this morning, Tipper. I loved seeing all the green, the beautiful ferns and especially the tadpoles. They were always a joy to see when we visited my brother’s farm on Memorial Day. Today I finally took my planters outside – I’m thinking that we’re through with frost here in northeast Ohio.
Beautiful. Simple beautiful. So well described I was walking and exploring alongside of you.
Tipper,
Do I see a dime in that picture with the tadpoles? Anyway, I hope you all had an enjoyable time. …Ken
Ken-Thank you for the comment! If there was a dime I missed it 🙂
Thanks for taking me on your hike, Tipper. I am not able to take those walks in the woods now, but have always loved nature and being a part of it.
I sure enjoyed your pictures into the spring woods! It seems every spring I try to watch the trees to see the first unfurling of the leaves and greening of the underbush. It always makes me want to celebrate in my heart and mind “Yea” spring is a coming. Down in NE MS, I would walk out miles in the woods and find an old graveyard surrounded by carefully placed rock fence and now sitting smack dab in a pine forest. Looking around the area just a forest now but knowing at one time there was a road nearby and farms nearby. Now in S central PA, you see rock fences all over the place when you are out on a drive. This area was covered up with large farms and as Pap told you as they plowed the fields and turned up these rocks they had to haul them to the edge of the field thus creating hundreds of feet of rock fence. In our area spring has put on a big show too . I think probably everyone love’s spring.
Beautiful pictures. The only up side to this whole thing is we have spent more time walking outdoors and exploring the little patch of woods at the end of our street.
I thought winter had finally gone too but woke up this morning to 49Âş. That’s not really cold but it is a shock to the system.
My friends and their kids have been coming by a few time each week to arrowhead hunt the plowed field and play in the creek. They have returned from their hikes with as many as ten ticks on one child. I have not stepped foot in the woods this spring as I am convinced the little bloodsuckers are anxiously awaiting for this magnet to arrive.
After working in my garden Monday, I have become a believer that rocks grow back every year.
With all the rain this year everything seems greener than usual. I too spotted several mudpuddles with tadpoles yesterday, no wonder the peepers are so vocal in the evening this spring. My neighbor was telling me this is the year the cicadas come back, looks like a good year for bugs and critters.
Greenup always does that, doesn’t it? It is easy to notice as the first blush of jade green, such as in the poplar tops. And it is not hard to note the steady increase until the oaks leaf out. Then we blink and suddenly there is a green explosion and all the leaves are out and it looks like summer.
Your fern picture looks like either New York fern or hay-scented. Those two can be identified by the decreasing size of the leaflets at the bottom of the frond. And hay-scented does smell similar to fresh hay. In strong light they can grow to be knee high and as thick as grass.
You are blessed that your Dad could explain about the rocks. We have to be taught to ‘read the woods’, to not just see but understand the meaning of what we see. As with the rocks picture, the signs get blurred over time and most people will not see them. Whether it is all your Dad’s teaching or it is partly your nature, you are a noticing person. I can tell that by both your posts and your pictures.
How blessed we are to live in this beautiful place.
I too get emotional about the beauty of these hills in the spring and summer. The beauty reinforces the connection I have to God and reminds me of his mercies renewed daily. How many shades of green are there in the mountains? It’s all a lovely mystery in my opinion and small mind. His thoughts and ways are so much higher than mine and I am reminded by nature of that but also of my nature which is a lot like the wilderness. When I went to the jungles of South America many years ago, everyone was always commenting on the greenness of it all but to me it was a lot like WV and not a real big difference except for monkeys, parrots and the biggest bush masters ( snakes) you ever could imagine…. FYI: I know a woman in Blacksburg, VA who has made a small fortune over the years potting and selling wild ferns (peddling) to the “educated” professors and professionals there…. THERES gold in these hills…. lol
Enjoyed your pictures and always enjoy the many different color shades of spring.
With all the rain we are getting plants and trees are really putting on a show this Spring.
We don’t call this God’s Country for nothing! There is not anything in the world more beautiful than our mountains with their new spring dress on. There is also the songs of springs coming from birds, bugs , critters, and the gurgle of the creek as the water rushes through and around the rocks.
When I take my morning walk I am flooded with the sights and sounds of mountain springtime and very grateful to live here!
Tipper.
Those photos are beautiful. I noticed the honey bee and it made me think of how few of them I see anymore.
I know some people who have hives have placed the hives on trailers so the bees can be moved into an area so the bees will produce a certain flavor honey. This could perhaps explain why the bees aren’t plentiful where they used to be seen?
Some of the best honey I have consumed came from NC which was labeled “Tulip Popular” honey,
Sorry, I got off on bees and honey instead of the beauty of the photos, which they are.