We had a good, drenching rain on Friday night, prompting me and Althea to spend a lot of time in the woods searching for oddities over the next few days. We weren’t disappointed.
![](http://www.opposable-thumbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Eastern-Newt-Notophthalmus-viridescens-scaled.jpeg)
![](http://www.opposable-thumbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Althea-tries-to-figure-out-what-these-two-Common-Box-Turtles-Terrapene-carolina-are-up-to-scaled.jpeg)
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![](http://www.opposable-thumbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Dwarf-Larkspur-Delphinium-tricorne-scaled.jpeg)
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We had a good, drenching rain on Friday night, prompting me and Althea to spend a lot of time in the woods searching for oddities over the next few days. We weren’t disappointed.
Althea and I spent several hours yesterday morning stomping around Feral Bends Forest Farm to see what’s happening in the understory. Long story short: It’s stunning. Here are a few photos.
Inspired by the Athens Conservatory’s Bluebell Preserve along the bikeway, Laura-Sue and I planted some Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) above the creek area where we plan to locate a bench. It’s already a location with a lot of trillium and other wildflowers.
I love the way beech trees cling to the dry, sandy soil on the southwestern slope of the ridge. Feral Bends was heavily logged a few decades ago and they left behind most of the beech. At first
, I saw that as a bad thing, but I’ve grown to love beech trees …