Sweet Little Things (18 Birds!)

 

Hey! What do you think has popped up in our pot of pinks? See the heart shaped leaves? It is wood sorrel! (You might think it is clover but clover has rounded leaves and wood sorrel has the heart shape. You will be tested later!) Apparently, it is edible but hey, I'm not gonna eat it! "Sorrel" is from the old French for "sour" and the botanical name "oxalis" is from the Greek for "acid".  You can try those sour, acidy leaves if you like! Oxalic acid is found in many foods like chocolate, coffee, beets and spinach, not forgetting the unforgettable taste of rhubarb! Now, is wood sorrel a native plant? It is listed as so yet it is also believed that it could have been introduced here many years ago. Me? I am just here for the beauty of it!

Richard and I went for a nice long walk at Panola Mountain State Park this past weekend. It was lovely! Look at this baby box turtle! I gently moved it off the trail, I was afraid that a biker might not see it.

It was a cool morning and so nice to have all these lovely trees around us.

The native lilies had bloomed out but there was one left, and it was just waiting for me to admire it. You know I did! It is the atamasco lily and I really love it. 

THIS is what they looked like last year! Not even sure how many there were this year what with the rain amount we have had! Oh, and we did get some rain, thank you for anyone who prayed for rain for us!

Richard has a bird app on his phone. It is fun to have it and to see what birds we are hearing around us. When we got to one point on the trail, it was so full of birdsong that we were astonished! As soon as he turned the phone on, it popped up with one bird after another, and another, and another! In total, we heard 18 different birds! We have never had that happen before.

Here is the list of birds:

Cardinal

Tufted titmouse

Carolina wren

Eastern Towhee

Red Bellied woodpecker

Downy woodpecker

Arcadian flycatcher

Blue grey flycatcher

White eye vireo

Red eye vireo

Scarlet tanager

Summer tanager

Hooded warbler 

Yellow throated warbler

Goldfinch

Eastern Wood Pewee

Baltimore Oriole 

And last but certainly not least, the Wood Thrush!

We heard the wood thrush just as we were leaving that stretch of trees and what a lovely song to finish our walk! "Many think that the wood thrush has THE most beautiful song in North America".  It made me smile to read that statement.

At the end of this boardwalk, you can just make out the top of Panola Mountain, It is covered in trees, so you will just have to take my word for it!  (I walked just over 5 miles on this day and that was very good for me! You can see why though, it was so pretty.)

Did anyone see that Queen Camilla brought "Roo" from England to go with the other Winnie the Pooh characters at the New York Public Library? I only wish I could show you the video that I saw of her! It has her carrying the tiny stuffed animal in her purse! And on the plane coming over, it is perched on the pilot's shoulder! Also, they have the sweet little thing looking out the window as they are flying! Little things, but hey, I thought it was sweet.  

Reading over this post, I have shown you heart shaped leaves, a baby turtle, and one sweet Lily. I told you about hearing 18 different birds and mentioned the tiny "Roo".  All sweet little things, don't you think we need more of them?

Happy Trails!