Vaccinium elliottii Chapman, Mayberry have many flowers fully out on the longest wands that reach out from the bank a meter or more over the river, making them my third native wildflower of the year. I’m a bit confused by some of these plants as they are very mature and have more exfoliating bark than I’m used to for this species. Usually with pretty green bark, even on large shrubs, these plants are far larger and obviously very old and I’m assuming that allows their larger diameter stems to develop the exfoliating pattern that is rather common in blueberries.
Rhododendron minus Michaux, gorge rhododendron, punctatum. Just as I’ve found on every other Chattahoochee gorge, these plants have developed a huge number of now-swelling flower buds hinting for a spectacular late April and early May walk along these trails.
Branta canadensis (Linnæus, 1758), Canada Goose, are obnoxiously loud this morning out on the river. I’m sure I’ve never been at this spot without seeing at least one goose. With this species, that is a real rarity as they are incredibly social birds.
The woods are amazingly quiet and birds seem nonexistent today. Where are they? Or am I so involved in walking and talking with Ed and Bill that I’m not paying attention to the sounds around me. At the top of the trail, 15 of us continue on the new trail down to the river near the GA 400 bridge. This adds nearly 2.5 miles and just about doubles the length of the walk and makes this a genuine hike.
One the way up out of the new trail we get a view of the slope with the sun directly in our line of sight that makes the moss on the sides of the trees glow with the brightest green imaginable. I stop and admire it and even Bill thinks it’s pretty neat. I turn around and only find the rather dull green with the other direction of light. Pretty cool.