In my pickup truck last weekend, I was part of a small motorcade that parked alongside a main road in Fort Mountain State Park in Murray County to see some blooming native azaleas. Soon after, a park ranger drove up to see why we had stopped there.
We said we were members of the Georgia Botanical Society taking part in its annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage — and the outing to Fort Mountain was one of 20 field trips during the three-day event.
We expected the ranger to tell us to move on and that we were not allowed to park along the road. Instead, he told us that a large, eye-catching patch of pink lady’s slippers was in the woods near where we were parked and we definitely should go see them.
Seeing pink lady’s slippers is always a thrill for wildflower lovers, so we, indeed, made our way to the wooded spot the ranger had pointed out. And what a sight — one of the largest patches of pink lady’s slippers most of us had ever seen. It seemed to stretch far into the woods and sparked much “oohing” and “aahing” as we snapped photos.
If the ranger had not informed us, we wouldn’t have seen the splendid sight.
The lady’s slippers turned out to be a highlight of the pilgrimage. To me, there’s no better celebration of Georgia’s superb spring beauty and diversity than the event. The three-day gathering of nature lovers takes place each spring in a different part of the state and offers several field trips to surrounding natural areas, many off the beaten path.
This year’s pilgrimage was based in East Ellijay in Gilmer County — a starting point for exploring a variety of mountain habitats. Twenty field trips fanned out into surrounding areas that included the Cohutta Mountains in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Fort Mountain and Amicalola Falls state parks and the Coosawattee and Cartecay rivers.
For more information, visit gabotsoc.org.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, retired Telllus Science Museum astronomer: The Eta Aquarids meteor shower will peak in the southeast Monday night at about 60 meteors per hour — spring’s biggest meteor shower. Best viewing: 3 a.m. until dawn. The moon will be first quarter Sunday, and Mercury and Venus are low in the east before dawn. Mars (high) and Jupiter (low) are in the west after dark. Saturn rises in the east a few hours before sunrise.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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