September is the month for the yellow daisies on our local monadnocks! They have been gorgeous! Now, I know that I call these yellow daisies and so they are called but they are really related to the sunflower family!
(Heliantus porteri, look it up!)
But hey, they are yellow and look like daisies, so Yellow Daisies they will be.
Recently, Arabia Mountain's Yellow Daisies were named as one of the 5 Natural Wonders of the US To Experience In Early Autumn! (According to Forbes Magazine.) You may read it just here. See, I have been telling you all how astoundingly beautiful they are! The United States of America is a big country!
Now as pleased as I was to find out that the wildflowers were mentioned, it also made me squirm a bit when I saw that it was titled "Hike Through Vibrant Daisy Fields In Georgia". Oh dear, let's talk about why that shouldn't have been worded that way, shall we?
These yellow daisies are not like fields of flowers in open land with solid soil beneath them...no, no, no...it is not like that AT ALL. The "rock" mountains have bits of soil that collect on them and it is just that little bit of earth that will sustain the daisies. So, it goes with all the plant life on the monadnocks. (Monadnock is a native American name for the rock mountain...it juts up from the rest of the surrounding countryside.) If you look at my photos, you might see some dead trees. At one time, my photos showed all the tall pines at the base of Arabia Mountain, but after a few years of drought, many of them have died. (Some of them have fallen over, you should see how little soil the trees were in!) Also, there are solution pits on Arabia Mountain which support some very rare plant life. (You all must remember my photos of the "red stuff", the beautiful plant that grows in the solution pits. It is most important that one does not step into the solution pits! It is so very easy to go around them! When we have had rain, they might have water in them but if not, they are very sandy. Stay out of them, wet or dry! Keep dogs out of them too! I can't tell you how disheartening it is to come upon a solution pit and see the "red stuff" (the diamorpha" beginning to grow but there will be one giant footprint (or several) that will be completely bare and THAT will be where someone put their great big feet into the solution pits! Now Kay, I tell myself, they didn't know, they didn't realize how very important it is to watch where they step! They should know, the good folks at Arabia Mountain have put up signs all over the place! And if they know how to read my blog, they should know!
AND if you listen to Ranger Robby Astrove (my hero) they will know too!
Dear Kay, it is heartbreaking, isn't it, when there is such beauty and people - out of carelessness or genuinely not knowing better - destroy it. I do hope everyone who arrives at Arabia Mountain for a hike/walk reads the information boards put up (I seem to remember you have mentioned something like that before) and sticks to the few very simple rules. Actually, it is really just ONE rule: Leave no trace, as you said. That includes foot prints!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I miss England and not having gone to see my Yorkshire family and friends there this year. Hopefully, next year will be different, but if I'll have to wait another year for the sake of safety (my own and of others), I shall be patient...
I missed your photos from Yorkshire this year! Of course, we must all think of the best for all involved this year. Still miss it though!
DeleteYes, I have spoken before of how one should walk on the rock, "only on the grey!" It is so easy to go around these plantings and solution pits, very easy. We once had a walker come towards us and he walked DIRECTLY through one of these yellow daisies patches (they had gone to seed) but still, why do that when one could easily go around them? Gives you more steps anyway! This is not like being on a trail through the woods where you must stay on the path and not disturb what is growing beside it, this is a mountain made of rock where bits of earth have collected and things are growing! See, I really do have a passion for our wildflowers and trees!
And this time last year, I was passing through London en route from France to Canada! What a strange eventful year it has turned out to be. Arabia mountain sure is a fascinating place, and I'd love to see the yellow daisies in the Autumn - how fantastic to be included in the Top 5 of Special Sights!
ReplyDeleteWe went to London just at the end of our stay. We might have crossed paths there! I think we were in London in 2016 at the same time. We WILL meet there one day! I shall raise a glass to that happy thought. CHeers!!
DeleteWhat a beautiful mountain and flowers you have there. All nature should be treated with kindness and respect. How else would we be able to view such beauty. Love the beach picture too. England or Georgia are both beautiful.
ReplyDeleteKindness and respect...all living things should be treated that way! I know you agree!!
DeleteBeautiful yellow color. Thanks for the information about the name of the mountain.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't say for sure that is why it is called that but I think it is the most likely explanation. I can't see why anyone from Georgia would think of the desert heat from Saudi Arabia!
DeleteI love the explanation of how "Arabia Mountain" got its name!
ReplyDeleteHa ha! See above answer to Gigi from Hawaii!
DeleteI could be wrong...but I doubt it! :-)
I am proud of you for pointing out that folks need to take care as they admire what nature has to offer. Often when we enjoy we forget to also leave it as it was.
ReplyDeleteLet's be sure and find something that is considered 400 million years old...and build a fire and have a wienie roast on it!
Delete(One is NOT supposed to build fires on this rock but for many years they have done so even though it is clearly marked that this should not be done!) And also, I don't like people moving the rocks around, leave it as you found it, I say.
We are lucky that in some places the swamps can have their own punishment for stepping off the designated areas, or for exploring where you don't know better. It's called poison ivy!
ReplyDeleteWe have the poison ivy too, although that would be along the base of the mountain. On the mountain itself, everything that grows on it is...a horse of a different color, so to speak! It is truly a remarkable landscape.
DeletePretty fields of yellow there.
ReplyDeleteJust wish you could smell them! Heavenly!
DeleteYour yellow daisies of Arabia Mountain are a national treasure.I hope everyone will respect and value them as much as you do, and leave no trace, and do no harm, whether purposefully or inadvertently.
ReplyDeleteLeave no trace, do no harm.
DeleteYou are right, they ARE a national treasure!
Daisies, daisies, daisies everywhere! So beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteWe just went for a walk today (Oct. 3) and they are still lovely, some of them are just past blooming and beginning to form seed heads but the bees were still very busy on them. The sound of the bees as the wind gently blew the aging flowers and the faint fragrance from the daisies, just lovely. xx
DeleteGosh Kay! I wish I could see your mountain. What a totally gorgeous place. I hope everybody will be careful to mind their feet and protect the beauty which is there for everyone.
ReplyDeleteWish you could see it too! You would love it, I know!
DeleteI would dearly love to see your beautiful Arabia Mountain when it is festooned in yellow daisies. At the very least I get to see it through your eyes. Hopefully, fingers crossed, you will be back in Eastbourne soon! Take care!
ReplyDelete