Let's take a walk on the wild side!

This morning I was sure to take the camera with me when I took my walk to the bottom of the hill. Going down there is always an adventure, with so very many things to check out. As I have said, it is a completely different world there. Here is a partial view of my Virginia Blue Bell field at the bottom of the old, old Walnut tree.

Here are a few Mandrakes. These are a really neat tropical rain forest looking type of plant. Each stem only holds one or two hand sized leaves. One flower will appear underneath the leaves and then a small fruit called a May Apple) will appear after the flower. The plants will go dormant until next spring shortly after bearing the fruit.

This picture of Norris Run creek is looking east. There are two trees right there that have fallen across. Chris and I have straddled them and worked our way across when it was too deep to wade (it was also winter and too cold to get wet). Our 12 and 13 year old boys hop up and run across like a gymnast on a balance beam.

Here is the creek looking north-west into the state park. It is always shallower that way farther away from the river.

Here is another view looking east. The beach on the left is getting bigger and bigger.

Across from the ever enlarging beach is our bank that is getting smaller and smaller. This recent erosion took at least 6 foot away.

Here is a picture of the old spillway. There used to be a large pond on this side that when it was too full, would overflow back into the creek. One of the previous owners partially filled the pond and reconfigured the creek. When there is a lot of rain, water still flows over the spillway.

Here is where the water ends after flowing over the spillway. We frequently see frogs and tadpoles and fish in there, Chris has even seen a turtle. The creek is just beyond the brush pile at the top of the photo.

Here is a picture of the house and barn from the spillway. They are quite a ways apart. Like I said, a completely different world.

Here is the old Walnut tree where the field of Virginia Blue Bells lay at the base. It is a magnificent tree.

This picture was taken topside, from the south side of the property looking north. That mess in the middle is the partially filled pond. The creek is just beyond it and you can see the spillway off in the upper right corner. The old Walnut tree is out of the picture on the right.

I hope you enjoyed the walk with me this morning!