Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 16th April, 2015 (Part 1)

April 16^th. I started to walk again at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia. One of my favorite walks is from the Group Shelter A to the Old Fort and back.This is a rewarding walk for viewing wildflowers and I’ve been trying to walk it weekly and document the wildflowers I see.

 

The route, which I described here. Things, in the way of Spring wildflowers, was starting to warm up on my most recent walk, documented here, here and here.
It had been raining and it was still cloudy so I had to use artificial light for photographs.

The Deerberry (Vaccinium stamineum) were in full bloom.  

I added photos of this lichen that was fruiting to my collection of photos to try and identify. 

Trees at the first bridge were leafing out nicely; the American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) was no longer the focal point of attention by the bridge.

I found a patch of Solomon’s Seal (Polygonatum biflorum) to the left of the trail just before the first bridge. Several were starting to bloom. 

The leaves on the Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) had developed fully. 

The rain had enhanced the rich colors of these Turkey-tail-like bracket fungi on a fallen log. 

  

This same log was hosting some Old Man’s Beard (Usnea strigosa) lichens. 

Flower buds were starting to develop on the Pipsissewa/Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata). These flowers are intriguing and I always look forward to seeing them. 

The Eastern Sweetshrub (Calycanthus floridus) bushes were still flowering.

  

This mushroom was growing on a tree trunk. Judging by the condition of the gills, it had been there for a while but I hadn’t noticed it. 

  

Eastern Sweetshrub flowers on a bush up near the cliff was much more intensely colored than those that I had passed earlier. 

I found my first Wild Yam (Discorea villosa) of the year. I’m always intrigued by the symmetry of the leaves. I’ve seen the flowers when they first bloom but have never followed the development of their seedpods although I found some dried seed pods nearby. Maybe, this will be the year.

I was surprised that the Carolina Silverbell (Halesia carolina) trees were still blooming.

The Mountain Azaleas (Rhododendron canescens) at the top of the cliff were in full bloom. I’m going to try to remember to follow the development of their seedpods this year. 

A couple of the flowers on the Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) had started to opened. 

The flower buds of the Rattlesnakeweed (Hieracium venosum) were still developing.

Just south of the Fishing Area, I found another tree limb that had fallen in the recent rains. I had seen the first one at several locations but the second one was new for me. 

And then I arrived at the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) orchids. 

I always get carried away when I’m photographing these. It’s one of the few times that I get my towel out and lie on the ground to photograph flowers.

After satisfying my need to photograph these flowers, which are protected in Georgia, I went on into the Fishing Area to continue my walk.

(To be continued…) 

Related posts: 

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 10th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 4th April, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 26th March, 2015 (Part 1)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 2)

- Spring Walk At Fort Yargo State Park: Shelter A To The Old Fort, 20th March, 2015 (Part 1)

Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 12th (Part 2)

April 12th. (Continued from… ) When I visited Fort Yargo State Park in mid-February, there were few signs of Spring. The only wildflower plants that were obvious were the leaves of Cranefly Orchids (Tipularia discolor) that I found in many places. On my previous walk on April 5th, the leaves of the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) Orchids were just poking through the leaf litter and I was surprised by a Perfoliate Bellwort (Uvularia perfoliata) that was just starting to bloom.

  

The route… I’ve described it here, here, here, and here. This walk doesn’t have the variety of wildflowers as my other walk from the Group A Shelter to the Old Fort but it does have some gems.

  

I continued along the trail to the… 

tree snag where I saw the Brown-headed Nuthatch (Sitta pusilla) the previous week. There wasn’t any activity and there appeared to be a second hole higher up the snag from the hole the nuthatch was working on. It may have just been digging out insects but I’m going to keep an eye out for it just in case it was building a nest. 

I found more Woolsower Galls. The galls seem to occur only in relatively sheltered areas; I haven’t seen any in open areas or in areas that are windy. 

These ferns are new. 

I found a few Deerberry (Vaccinium staminium) just starting to bloom. 

 

I finally arrived at the hillside with the Pink Lady’s Slipper (Cypripedium acaule) Orchids. One, in bloom, is clearly visible in the lower lef of this photo. There are several in a flat area behind the pine tree on the left. They are scattered up the hill and off to the right. There are 15 to 20 orchids in this area which are protected in Georgia.

  

Two orchids with developing buds. 

Another individual orchid in bud. 

An orchid in bloom 

Closer views of the flower. 

A fly obliged by posing for a photo nearby. 

When I could tear myself away from the orchids, I continued along the trail. 

  

And then I spotted another Smallflower Pawpaw (Asimina parviflora) flower.

The plant, only a single stem, is a little right of center in the foreground. There are a few leaves on the tip of the stem. It's easy to see why it can be hard to find these plants until they bloom and start to set leaves.

The leaves, up close, with some old flowers below the stem. 

Another interesting gall. I didn’t know what the host plant was so I haven’t been able to identify it. (Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it on my next walk) 

I always enjoy seeing this bench. It’s so inviting after the climb up the steep hill but I resist the temptation to sit because there’s still another climb to the top of the hill. It might be a different story in the summer when it’s very hot though. 

My last plant check is the Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor) leaf cluster near the edge of the forest. They’re still there but they don’t look healthy; they haven’t looked healthy for a while now. 

Just about back to the parking lot - just as it started to rain.

It was really exciting to find the Smallflower Pawpaw plants and the Pink Lady’s Slipper Orchids in bloom. It will be interesting to follow the pawpaw flowers and see if they develop fruit. 

Related posts:

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 12th (Part 1)

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam, April 5th

- Spring Is In The Air: Fort Yargo State Park, Section B To The Dam

- Out With The Old; In With The New (Part 2)

- Out With The Old; In With The New (Part 1)

- Well… So Much For Walking The Beach

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 4)

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 3)

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 2)

- Winter Walk: Fort Yargo State Park – Section B To The Dam (Part 1)