The bright red diamorpha have now bloomed with tiny white flowers. From a distance, they look pink.
This area was quarried heavily but it is such a wide open space and the flowers and greenery are taking over. It is a wonderful open space but we are on our way to Arabia Lake.
There are some very large rocks that we walk past and Richard thought this one looked a bit like a T-Rex. 
This plant is a tradescantia. We saw this at Stone Mountain last year and now we have seen it at Arabia Mountain! Amazing where it grows, it must be one tough plant.
As we were walking on this rocky terrain towards the frog pond which is at the base of this side of the mountain, we heard a noise that sounded a bit like little boys knocking marbles together. Does anyone know what that could be? We also heard that sound later at the frog pond itself and also at the little creek near the lake. Does a frog make that noise? Richard was able to get a shot of this beautiful dragonfly at the frog pond, that dusty blue was gorgeous! We don't know what it is called. Can anyone tell me?
The jasmine has stopped blooming now so it is the time for this little beauty. It is called a crossvine and is related to a trumpet flower, can you see how they look like trumpets? They are everywhere, often growing up high in a tree and you will see the blossoms at your feet before you see the vine.
We have made it to Arabia Lake! We were happily surprised to see that almost the whole perimeter of the lake was covered in a lilly pad type of plant that was blooming with yellow flowers.
This looked just like pink honeysuckle to me and that is, in fact, what people call it. It is really a wild azalea and that pink is the most beautiful color.The vernal pools on the top of Arabia have dried up now, not surprising with the heat that we have had. We met a nice guy at the top of the mountain on Saturday from West Virginia and I told him about my blog. I wonder if he will find it and read this? If so, he could leave a comment and let you know the beauty here is real. No trick photography! Nothing photo-shopped! Just beauty captured by our eyes and our small camera...
Again, the most beautiful pictures of what sounds and looks like a great day out, the best thing to do on a weekend when the weather is like that!
ReplyDeleteThe T-Rex looks too friendly to be one - that rock is positively smiling :-)
It was a wonderful day and we are grateful that we were at Arabia for the best part of it.
DeleteRichard called it a T-Rex or a dragon. It must be a friendly dragon with that big smile! :-)
It was a great day to be walking at Arabia!
DeleteAnd Richard also said it could be a dragon, so it must be a friendly dragon! :-)
Your photos are lovely. What a gorgeous corner of the world that is! I don't know what you call the dragonfly. I just call them dragonflies but yours is extra beautiful and must have a better name. :)
ReplyDeleteHey Relax Max!
DeleteThanks for visiting and leaving a comment!
I just found your blog recently and you have a very good one!
Arabia Mountain and Stone Mountain are both outstandingly beautiful. So much so that it feels like you are in another planet when you are at either of them...I have written about both of them quite a bit and most of the photos are made by my husband, Richard.
If you like, you can use my search engine at the right of my blog, and see lots of photos of these places!
Thanks so much for being a new follower, my 55th!
Absolutely stunning, Kay. That first shot of the lake is beautiful. I wouldn't have expected things to change as quickly as they do, or for there to be so many different flowers there.
ReplyDeleteI can see what Richard means about the T Rex!
Dear Tracey,
DeleteThose yellow flowers at the lake were such a wonderful surprise! I have never, ever seen anything like it. Most lakes here have lots of motorized boats upon them so that must prevent plants like this...no motorized boats at Arabia Lake. Hurray!
And Tracey, even a T-Rex gets happy at Arabia!
Really pretty and I love all the wildflowers. Our are out in full force here in Central Texas and are quite lovely. We've had enough rain this year to make them possilbe. I missed them last spring.
ReplyDeleteDear Kay,
DeleteSo pleased to see your comment here. I am remembering your sister, Rhonda, please let her know.
Your wildflowers! Let's see some photos on your blog! :-)
Love,
Kay
Lovely pictures Kay, all helping me get to know Georgia a little. My daughter will be over there for the Easter holiday with her fiancee and his family. She will have to pack summer clothes! Here in UK Midlands we are having a few nice warm spring days, all our spring flowers are now well in bloom and everywhere looks cheerful after the winter. Sandra
ReplyDeleteDear Sandra,
DeleteNormally, the dogwood trees would be blooming the first week of April, but they are at their peak right now so I am afraid she will miss them...still, there should be a lot blooming and I hope she gets to Stone Mountain! :-) (By the way, I always JUST MISSED the bluebells when I would visit England, but in 2010, because of the cold winter, I got to see them AT THEIR BEST! I did a post on them, don't know if you saw it.)
Beautiful photos! Makes me wish I could stroll through there.
ReplyDeleteDear Martha,
DeleteI found a new video that I am going to try and post, and you can see how nice the trails are! (It doesn't show the mountain itself, but you have already seen the mountain from my posts!)
Of course no trick photography. Real beauty like this can't be improved upon by mere mortals.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing these.
And I am definitely a mere mortal! (Not sure, my husband might be angelic though...he would have to be since he is married to me! Just kidding, kinda)
DeleteSo beautiful ! Love!! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSince you are a real artist, I am honored that you like these photos. My husband takes really good photos, but I took some of these!
DeletePlease visit again!
Hi Kay, love the pink honeysuckle, my grandmother and I used to go hunting for it every spring. I gave you an award, visit my blog and you can pick it up!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dorothy
Dear Dorothy,
DeleteThat pink honeysuckle is to die for!
You gave me an award, you are a doll!
Thank you very much! It takes me a while before I can get myself organized to do awards, I hope that's okay!
Pat that precious dog for me!
Love,
Kay
Beautiful area. Is this area volcanic?
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, Arabia Mountain is 400 MILLION YEARS OLD!!! It is a granite monadnock. There is a website about it if you would like to read about it www.arabiaalliance.org
DeleteThere is a lot of granite in this county where we live, which is 11 miles from Arabia, that is why it is ROCKDALE county.
We have another monadnock that is bigger called Stone Mountain which is only 300 million years old. It is interesting since you can tell that the color of the rock is different between the two (we can, anyway, we love them both!)
So beautiful (and I loved the T Rex!). That new camera is really working well - or perhaps it's the operators...
ReplyDeleteI don't know what the knocking stones sound would be in Georgia but over here it would be a Stonechat. You can hear it on this recording
http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/stonechat/index.aspx
But I've often heard it simply doing the knocking noise - continuously without the song.
Belive it or not, I recognize so many of those birds on that RSPB website...I wonder how many of them wake me up with that dawn chorus when I am in England? It could be a bird but I really think that whatever is making that noise must be in the water...but I will keep trying to find out what it is. Nevertheless, I thank you for putting this link on here...I've listened to the stonechat, the robin, the chaffinch, the blackbird...I love birds and birdsong!
DeleteGlad you liked the rocky T-Rex! WE lived and breathed dinosaurs when our son was little!
Kay, These pics are fabulous! Where do I begin? I love that Richard saw a T-Rex in those rocks - I see it too, of course :) The dragonfly is so lovely. Thanks for the lovely day & I look forward to our next tour!
ReplyDeleteDear Jane,
DeleteOf course, my friend who sees faces would see the T-Rex!
Isn't that dragonfly a beautiful dusty blue color? Richard had to work really hard to even get that shot, everything was flying so fast...there were dozens of butterflies, but we couldn't get a photo!
How beautiful it all is. Great photgraphs. Stunning in fact. I see the dinosaur too!
ReplyDeleteHey! Thank you so much for your comment, Johnny Cash...I mean John! :-) My husband will be tickled with all the happy dino fans!
ReplyDeleteGreat pics! I'm going to have to get over there soon - now that the dragonflies are out.
ReplyDeleteYours is possibly a male Blue Corporal - they're around from March to early June.
It's possible that frogs were making the sound you describe - was the clicking very fast. If so, they're probably cricket frogs - either Northern or Southern. W posted recordings at: http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/GAFrog.Toad.html
Hey Joan!
DeleteI heard the sound of a Southern cricket frog and I think that might be it! A male Blue Corporal, by George, I think that's it!!! Thank you for your ID for these creatures!
This is Michael,the guy from WV. The beauty is real, no trick photography. Arabia State Park is awesome
ReplyDeleteHey Michael! So sorry I couldn't remember your first name. I am just seeing your comment from June of last year! So happy that you left this comment here to let folks know that Arabia Mountain's beauty is for real.
DeleteAnd you are so right, it is AWESOME.
Thanks again! :-)