This past Friday was my birthday. I decided to take the day off from work! I am glad that I did...they do a guided hike every Friday at 8AM at Arabia Mountain. Very much hoping that Ranger Robby would be the guide, I arrived at the Nature Center with hope in my heart. YES! There was a smiling Ranger Robby! When I told him that it was my birthday, he told me that he had something special to show me on the hike, for my birthday!
Ready? Lace up those boots and let's go!
The above photo was taken at about halfway through the hike. We walked down this trail and then, turned back around. We walked for just over 2 hours! Can you see that the tree over the trail has somehow been blown over but it continued to live and the branches are growing up? They named the trail just beside this tree "Boomerang Trail" since the tree looks very much like a boomerang, of course! (Do kids even know what those are anymore?)
Very early in our walk, Robby stopped and said "Happy Birthday".
I looked all around, I looked up at the beautiful trees and wondered what it was!! He said, "look down". And there on the forest floor, were these exquisite little beauties...they are Pink Lady Slippers!
My photo is not very good, I am sorry, they were beautiful, trust me! (I have read that this flower is unusual in Georgia...it reminds me of myself! The UNUSUAL part anyway! HA!)
Look at this pink flower beside the lake! It is a native azalea, and there were several of these bushes blooming there. (Robby posed beside this one for me!)
This gorgeous stream is just beside the trail! And just beside it and just coming into bloom...
Mountain Laurel! If you live in the Atlanta area, you might know this from the North Georgia mountains, but I promise you that this was blooming at Arabia Mountain! (It also blooms at Stone Mountain, someone will have to tell me if they have seen it at Panola Mountain, I bet it is there too!)
In the photo above, that is what the mountain laurel looks like when it is in tight buds but when it blooms, it is a very pale pink, almost white...and the flower petals look like delicate parasols. Just lovely.
Again, when we were beside this stream, Robby said, "Happy Birthday". And once again, it took a while for me to see the blooms! Thank you, Robby! I am most certainly "in the pink" after this wonderful hike!
Look! We are on our way back to the Nature Center now and Ranger Robby is walking beside the red diamorpha which has tiny white flowers on the very top-the red and white combined makes it look pinkish, doesn't it? It's gorgeous, I love it.
Hope you enjoyed this hike with me! (Richard didn't go, he was doing necessary errands but by doing so, it allowed me to go on this hike! Thanks to my sweet husband for this treat!)
That was a true birthday treat! Once when I was a girl, I found a beautiful yellow lady slipper growing wild in my neighbourhood -- on land beside the railway tracks. A true wild flower will not grow on broken land -- only on virgin soil. Because railway land was never used for agriculture, it was a rich source of wildflowers in my childhood. Crocuses in the springtime too.
ReplyDeleteLove wildflowers, I bet the yellow ladyslipper was pretty!
DeleteI well remember seeing crocuses in England, the first to push their way through Earth for Spring!
nice post
ReplyDeleteYou had a lovely pink birthday stroll. So nice.
ReplyDeleteI started to title this "In The Pink", but I knew my smart followers would catch the color theme!
DeleteHappy Birthday Kay!
ReplyDeleteThank you Dennis!
DeleteBeautiful flowers of Georgia...and I do believe that you, too, are a sweet Georgian blossom...a sweet petal! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed your birthday, Kay. :)
A sweet petal, that's a good one, say something else that is funny! :-)
DeleteThanks for your well wishes!
Thank heaven you gave yourself the day off. This hike was too beautiful to miss! Exquisite! I know lady's slipper grows here in northeast Ohio, but I have never seen them except in photographs though I've wandered through the woods for thousands of miles in my 71 years! Perhaps they need a special soil, something sandier than we usually have here. What a wonderful birthday gift!
ReplyDeleteRobbie said that he has only seen it in that one spot at Arabia, I do wonder if they also have it at Stone Mountain or Panola. I was very pleased to see it!
DeleteHappy Birthday, Kay! What a truly fabulous way to spend a birthday. What gorgeous flowers and they were all blooming for you!
ReplyDeleteI have always loved my birthday, even as a kid, I love that everything very suddenly is in bloom with the pale green leaves on the trees!
DeleteLooks like a perfect way to spend a birthday ! Glad you could take the day off and enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteHA HA, said it twice! :-)
DeleteLooks like you had a very good and fun birthday,Kay. I love the native Azalea, we see them at FDR and my sister has a yellow one in her yard.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who camps at FDR all the time, never been there myself but I know it is near Callaway Gardens and I have been there and seen the lovely azaleas. x
DeleteIt sounds like the perfect birthday, and i'm so glad you went and are sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteA day off from work is always a good day for me but that nature walk was just right for me.
DeleteI need to visit that mountain sometime. Lovely way to spend your birthday.
ReplyDeleteYes, you MUST visit Arabia Mountain AND Panola Mountain! It is not far from you at all!
DeleteHappy 23rd Birthday again!
ReplyDeletexx
Ha! Thanks, Ad-Man!!
DeleteHow wonderful to have not only the walk in one of your all-time favourite areas on your birthday, but also with your favourite Ranger Robby!
ReplyDeleteRichard is the best, isn't he! And you photos are nearly as good as his ;-)
Richard IS the best, in a lot of ways and most certainly in his photography skills!
DeleteHappy Birthday! Itt was a gfreat way to spend it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, John!
DeleteKay, what a wonderful way to spend your birthday!!! The pink lady slipper is amazing!!! XOXO!
ReplyDeleteYou will have to check your area for lady slippers, I think you are more likely to see them in North Carolina.
DeleteAnd it was a nice birthday, glad it was on Friday! xx
Happy (Belated) Birthday to you! Thank you for sharing your beautiful walk with us! I can't imagine a nicer way to spend your glorious day.
ReplyDeleteIt was glorious! That is exactly the word that I thought of when I looked up to the sky through the pale green leaves on that day!
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