I hope everyone got to visit one of our state parks here in
Tennessee this last weekend. A lot of them were having their spring nature
celebrations. Judy and I were lucky and were invited to Standing Stone State
Park's 12th Annual Spring Nature Rally where I led two
wildflower/photography field trips. I did my best to share my knowledge of
wildflower photography and wildflower identification with two great groups of
visitors. I really want to thank Rangers Stevie Plumlee and Shawn Hughes for
the invitation. We hope to make this an annual event for Judy and me.
Standing Stone State Park is one of Judy's and my favorite
parks. It is a beautiful place with spectacular wildflower displays. They have
many trails that afford majestic views of what nature has to offer. The trails
are easy. One of the best trails is to just walk the road that leads to Overton
Lodge. The sides of the road are covered with many varieties of Tennessee
native wildflowers.
Just to name a very few of the flowers you may see are:
(Actaea pachypoda) Doll's Eyes, (Anemonella thalictroides) Rue Anemone,
(Antennaria plantaginifolia) Plantain-Leaf Pussytoes, (Antennaria solitaria)
Solitary Pussytoes, (Caulophyllum thalictroides) Blue Cohosh, (Claytonia
virginica) Spring Beauty, (Dentaria multifida) Fine-Leaf Toothwort,
(Erythronium americanum) Yellow Trout Lily, (Frasera caroliniensis) American
Columbo, (Iris cristata) Dwarf Crested Iris, (Mertensia virginica) Virginia
Bluebell, (Sedum ternatum) Mountain Stonecrop, (Trillium sulcatum) Southern Red
Trillium, (Trillium recurvatum) Prairie Trillium, and (Trillium luteum) Yellow
Trillium only to name a few. I took pictures of over 40 different species of
wildflowers on this trip alone. Park naturalist Jonathan Williams was very
helpful with identification and facts about the native wildflowers. Ranger Stevie
Plumlee, who has become a great friend of mine, also accompanied me on several
hikes to provide interesting information about the native wildflowers.
At the end of the day after all the events were over, we
were treated with a great supper of Ranger Travis Stover's famous smoked Boston
Butt pulled pork BBQ, hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the fixins including some
of Travis's great homemade slaw! Travis, I am still waiting for your slaw recipe!
Judy and I brought our camper and stayed the weekend. We have
camped there numerous times and it is one of our go-to places. There are a lot
of camper/rv sites with water and electric hookups. Alli Baltimore (engaged to Travis) will great
you when you arrive and get you all fixed up. Let's not forget Ranger Chris
Cole, who was a great help to me when we arrived.
Judy and I thank you very much and, who knows, we may be back
for fall pictures! Over the next few days I will be posting some wildflower pictures
from this trip.
photos, by George
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