Sunday, October 19, 2008

Inland Sunday

Today was a beautiful day here. Yesterday, it rained as a front came through and cooled the temperature down to around 70. So when the sun came up this morning, I decided to go inland, instead of to the water.

There's a number of trails that interconnect in this state to form a system called the Palmetto Trail. We drove to the trailhead of one of the parts of the Palmetto Trail and went for a nice hike through the woods.

I've included a number of photos here. Cedrorum will no doubt recognize some of the species that he sees on the job. I recognized red maple, sweet bay, long leaf pine, American beauty berry, Smilax, sweet gum, cinnamon fern, bald cypress, wax myrtle and many more species.
But the mushrooms and wild flowers were what really caught my attention. There was wild ageratum, numerous daisies, and I came across an old "friend" from my childhood walks in Virginia: Indian pipe. Indian Pipe, also known as “Corpse Plant,”doesn’t have chlorophyll, so it is a waxy, whitish color. It has flowers that droop and tiny, scale-like leaf. When they look at it, most people think Indian Pipe is a fungus.
It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. The dog enjoyed her walk and seemed happy for the cool temperatures. There were a lot of interesting things to sniff along the trail.

The woods offer their own special beauty this time of year. I think that I'd like to go back again soon.

13 comments:

  1. What a great way to prepare for the week ahead.

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  2. Great pictures! You and Ced know so much about the outdoors...I feel more "cityfied" all the time and am a tad envious of both of your outdoor type jobs. Maybe in the next life....

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  3. I love reading about your outdoor adventures.

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  4. I bet you syd are like my grandad, he used to know all the plants and which ones to eat etc, he also had a plant cure to every type of illness.
    anyway happy monday, bit of a wet weekend here in Yorkshire but who cares, its liquid sushine!

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  5. In order to learn and remember the names of all those plant lives, I'd have to partake in a University course.

    I do love the pictures, and explanations. AND I can see serenity all over God's forestial world. How beautiful!

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  6. it looks like a beautiful day and a beautiful place to walk!

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  7. Wonderful shots and I agree with lou what a great way to begin your week!

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  8. Which segment of the trail was this? It's a beautiful time of year for hiking in SC!

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  9. A hike in all that beauty - what a blessing.

    I'm glad you were able to enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

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  10. Sounds relaxing. That is one thing I really liked about South Carolina; all the hiking trails they seem to have everywhere. It's ironic that you went on a hike yesterday. We did the same thing at a park near us. Saw a bird I wasn't familiar with. It looked like a dark-eyed junco, but was definitely pure black and white, and not grey. I still haven't figured it out.

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  11. I just love your mushroom pictures. They would look great framed and on my wall.

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  12. I bet you would have loved to have your horse back for that trail. But hiking is good too. Glad you enjoyed yourself.

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  13. Great pics, Syd! We have alot of great trails here that flow through the woods....many of them on the old railroad lines.

    Your post is reminding me of the lady slippers we used to have in our backyard. I had read on the internet that they were extinct but I saw some in the woods a few years ago.

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