Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Arabia Mountain/Spring Comes Early



 We did our walk on Arabia after work and ended up staying until sunset.  Look at these photos.  Can you blame us?
 These flowers are oneflower stitchwort but I will always think of them as the little white flowers which give me great joy!  I think my name for them will be joyflowers. 
 Here we are on the top of the mountain and the pools are rather full after the rain this weekend. (Richard took this with our new camera with the fish eye effect, we've never had that before!)
 This is on the other side of the mountain and the water drains down on this side into the lake. The sun is so bright here that you can't see how thick this is with the bright green moss... And at the base, this water combines into small waterfalls!  Just lovely! Richard takes videos of them, so sorry I can't share them with you!
 Can you tell how very clear this water is in this pool?  It's hard for me to tear myself away from this sight...I just want to gaze and gaze. 

                                                                                                       
This is a mockingbird and it was eating those blue berries on this cedar tree but when Richard got there with the camera, it looks as if he is wanting him to go away, doesn't it?  Mockingbirds really do "mock" other birds, they will do a bird's call three times and can be quite vocal.  They sometimes will sing well before daylight. They are also very protective of their nests and will "dive bomb" at cats and humans. Never heard of anyone dying from a mockingbird though, so I think we are all safe.!
 Another view of this side of the mountain, but just next to the lake with the pine tree blocking the sun!


 We have seen this yellow before but this was the most pronounced.  Could it be golddust lichen? I read a description of it and it certainly was yellow!  This is only a guess, as my knowledge of all plants is very elementary.  Well, all my knowledge, to be honest.


 Can you tell how the diamorpha grows in the smallest amount of soil?  It is so beautiful!


 This is wooly ragwort, sometimes called "bunny ears".  Once again, I believe this to be correct!


 The lake, very quiet and peaceful...only the sound of birds and the water trickling down the mountain.


 Richard took this as a close up from the next mountain over, "the quarried mountain", I called it in an earlier post.    At first, I felt very uncomfortable on that mountain, but now,  I am seeing the beauty of it and we walk over to that mountain now.  But not on this day, we wanted to see the flowers coming to life.
 Walking back to the top of the first mountain and these boys were on the very top, and I asked Richard to quickly take the photo!


 The sun going down made everything a golden rosy shade.


 
 Close up of the diamorpha smallii.  

 
 I told you we stayed until the sun went down!


 This tree at the bottom of the mountain had these white blooms.  What is this tree?  It's lovely!



We wonder if this might be a Georgia oak?  It only grows on stone outcrops like Stone Mountain and Arabia mountain and was also near the base of the mountain.  It is a small scrubby oak and hangs on to its leaves during the winter. 

We also went to Arabia Mountain this past Friday and Richard took some magnificent photos of the clouds over the mountain that evening.  For me personally, it was so beautiful that tears came to my eyes.   Clouds over Arabia, look for that post soon!  In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this walk that we just did yesterday!

24 comments:

  1. Everything is so beautiful! The quarried mountain...is it naturally shaped that way or is it actually cut rock?

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    1. Dear Audrey,
      Oh, that is definitely cut rock. I wrote about this on Nov. 14th from last year, if you would like to read it!
      There are two mountains just together and the 2nd one over was quarried the most. There are so many rocks on that one you have to really careful walking there!

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  2. kay, these photos are fantastic. i especially like the boys walking above, what a shot. richard is talented. and it's clear both of you know how to spot and appreciate the beauty all around you

    what an area.

    love kj

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    1. Dear kj,
      Thank you! I knew that Richard took good photos but I didn't know how good until I started this blog! I am trying to talk him into doing a guest post on Arabia, the one with the clouds from last Friday...
      It is an amazing area, and I am glad you think so too!

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  3. No, I don't blame you at all for going there after work and staying until sunset - there is surely no better way to wind down after work, the place is just so beautiful! Love the "joyflowers" and the bunny-ears :-)

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    1. Dear Meike,
      Thanks! Those little white flowers are just tiny and simple but they make my heart sing! And our camera captured the bunny ears much better than our old one!
      We only MEANT to stay for one hour but it was more than two!
      Hey, hope all is well with you these days. I read your review of your movie but couldn't comment, as my computer started giving me trouble. Have you ever seen the movie "The Changling"? We just watched it recently and I might have to do a post about it.

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  4. I wouldn't even suggest you try to identify lichen - there are thousands of them and you need a microscope, an expert and about fifteen years of experience in chemical analysis! Just enjoy like I do!
    I love the one of those boys on the ridge and the pine tree stopping the sunlight.
    A fish eye effect - your new camera really is posh! I'm glad we're getting to see it played with.

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    1. HA! I will take your advice and just enjoy them, sounds perfect for me.
      Richard thinks he will like our new camera. Hopefully, he will read this and will give him confidence to boldly go where no camera of ours has gone before!
      I'm trying to talk him into writing a guest post, don't you think he should?
      Oh, and I forgot to tell you, please let Jo know that I can't tell a joke either, I leave out something important or forget the punchline!

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  5. Those are beautiful photos! What a beautiful way to end the day. I love the photo of the lake. It's so relaxing. I could sit by it and meditate.

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    1. Dear Martha,
      The lake is beautiful. It is not part of Arabia but is privately owned. Luckily for us, we can still look at it!

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  6. The pool is amazingly clear, I too could sit and just gaze, even at the photograph, I kept going back to it. Richard takes some wonderful pics of a very beautiful area.

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    1. Dear Tracey,
      Richard took all of these photos except for two: the clear pool one and the yellow rock one, and I took those!
      I am so glad that you like it too. It amazes us every time we see it.

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  7. Hello Kay:
    This has to be the most perfect antidote to a stressful day at work. How very lucky you are to have such a wonderfully rich landscape in which you can roam and enjoy the beauty of Nature in peace. Lovely!

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    1. Dear Jane and Lance,
      The most amazing thing about it...it is only TWO miles from a huge shopping mall (called Stonecrest Mall, in honor of it being so near to Arabia Mountain, I suppose) and the mall is right next to a busy, busy interstate highway. Luckily, you never know how close you are to all that traffic and congestion and chaos...on Arabia it is all wild beauty and peace.

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  8. Thank you, Kay. I feel almost like I just took a hike with you and Richard. Thanks so much for letting me come along. :-) Those really are lovely photographs. I love all the colors of the different plants against the gray of the rocks. I can see why you love this place.

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    1. Dear Beth,
      Richard took almost all of these photos, and he IS good, isn't he? It is an ASTOUNDING place. May I tell you something funny? When we married in 1983, our honeymoon was in Fontana Dam, North Carolina! Richard loves the mountains just like I do!

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  9. It's just so beautiful and lovely to share, I always enjoy dropping by your blog :-)

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    1. Dear Wendy,
      Thank you for your comment. It makes me happy to see beauty and to share it. There is so much of the other these days!

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  10. Such beautiful colors! Thanks for taking us with you on your trip! Also thanks for following my blog! Love your "love story" -it occurs to me that now you don't need to write him anymore!

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    1. Dear Emille,
      Please come on the mountain anytime with us, you are more than welcome!
      You have a lovely blog!
      I am trying to get Richard to do a guest post on my blog, I really shouldn't keep him all to myself, should I? Not only does he take better photos than I do, but he is a better writer as well.

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  11. Great pics. You're tempting me back there. I love the cairns that show the way.

    I think the tree is a Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea). They bloom in March before the leaves develop fully.

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    1. A serviceberry, thank you! Go to Arabia and do a post, would love to see your take on all that we see there!
      Do you think that the leaf is a Georgia Oak?

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  12. Beautiful lake. I haven't been to Georgia in years, but now I'm wanting to go again soon.

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  13. Hey Deno!
    Look at my posts on Stone Mountain. At certain times of the year, there are tons of photographers there with tripods, like they are waiting for the movie stars on the red carpet...it is just that spectacular.

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