Road Trip, Part Deux

When last I left you, Treebeard and I were making our way from the picnic area down to the lake. And quite a lake it is - over 16,000 acres of natural lake, all rain-fed due to the fact that it sits higher than the surrounding land. I didn't bother taking a picture from the boat ramp out over the lake, but I did snap a quick shot of the nearest bit of shore.

 

It really is a quite remarkable body of water.  It is shallow throughout and since the water is clear you can see much of the sandy bottom.  You can also see loads of little fish, particularly near the boat ramp.

 

I'm not sure what any of these little guys are, but there were huge numbers of little fish all around the dock.

 

After we got tired of watching little fish swim here and there, we headed back to the picnic area.  Along the way we were treated to some very cooperative dragonflies.  The one below is a blue dasher.  He was obelisking.  When some species of dragonflies that live in open areas get too warm they will sit with their abdomens raised in the direction of the sun.  This reduces the amount of their surface area that is exposed to direct sunlight and allows them to cool off a bit.

 

 

Apparently the female great blue skimmer pictured above did not feel the need to obelisk.  She was very cooperative and allowed me to get quite close.

Once we got to the picnic area we decided to keep on walking because it was still relatively early.  A little poking around along a fern bed revealed a northern rough green snake...

 

and a praying mantis, both hunting for an afternoon snack among the foliage.

 

As we strolled through the campground on our way to the trail, we couldn't help but notice the abundance of Virginia Creeper in bloom.  Virginia Creeper is one of those plants that folks tend to confuse with poison ivy.  It is actually related to grapes -- but you wouldn't want to eat the fruit it produces.

 

Another plant that was present in abundance was Beauty Berry, aka French Mulberry.  The pink flowers will give way to fruit of the most obnoxious shade of purple.  Most people think it is beautiful but I am definitely not one of those people.  As a matter of fact I usually refer to this shrub as "Ugly Berry."

 

At the edge of the campground sits a large old sycamore tree with an impressive hollow.  We have found bats roosting in this tree in the past so Treebeard stepped in to take a look.  He didn't see any bats, but he did see some nice big spider eyes staring back at him.  (I have been inside this tree with six other adults.)

We'll continue our adventure in another post. It's time now for Treebeard and me to go out and do our evening yard and garden prowl. Hope you're having a wonderful first day of summer/solstice!