Fountainbleu Nature Trail More Wildflowers (Part 5)

I didn't get a very good picture of this flower. 

More Candy Root.

This plant is incredibly small. Mark had to put it in a special container so we could see it good. Don't worry he replanted it after we were through looking at it. It's a member of the Sundew family and it feeds on insects.

 I'll show you more about the Picture Plant tomorrow, but this is a nice picture of it. ~Sandra

Fountainbleu Nature Trail (Part 4) Wildflowers

The wildflowers were of course my favorite part of the hike. Meadow Beauty. 

Phlox

Another Meadow Beauty.

Alas I don't remember the name of the pretty yellow flower. 

More Candy Root.

 

Fountainbleu Nature Trail (Part 3) Davis Bayou

Being in Nature is so healing. It's really nice that we have nature trails close by. 

We are looking out over Davis Bayou here.

What's a bayou?

A bayou is a body of water that's typically found in a flat, low-lying area of the Southern United States. Bayous can be slow-moving streams, rivers, marshy lakes, wetlands, or creeks. They are often shallow and can be heavily wooded

 

 Of course Mark found a bug. Sorry I don't remember it's name.

Pretty sure this is Candy Root aka Bachelor Buttons we had some growing in our yard wild at one time.

 

 And this is Wild Blueberries. ~Sandra

Fountainbleu Nature Trail (Part 2)

 

I wish I had captured the sounds as there were lots of birds chirping during our hike. I really enjoyed the shady glades with the ferns as it got pretty warm.

The habitat is known as a Pine Savanna and it's very important to our ecosystem. You can read more about it here. The Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge does controlled burns to help the pines. 

I really want to do another hike soon as you see different things as different times of the year. 

I think this is a wild hydrangea. I really wish I had taken notes during the hike. ~Sandra, reporting for ATCAD

Nature Hike with Mom

 Back in June Mom went on a Nature Hike in Ocean Springs. This is the Fontainebleau Trail and it's part of the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. 

Did you know people can eat this? It's called Greenbrier (although Mom has a $*** name for it) and is sometimes referred to as Wild Asparagus. You can read about it here. It grows in our neighbors yard and viciously attacks our azaleas. It also tries to kill Mom when she tries to rescue the azaleas, hence the HBO name for it. Mom reports that it tasted OK raw, but sauteed in butter would probably be the yummiest way. Unfortunately Mark didn't seem to have a skillet full of butter handy on the nature walk.

Mark LaSalle was the guide, Mom knows him from when youngest was in Scouts. He is very knowledgeable about plants and animals. She trusted him enough to eat the Greenbrier.

Mom saw a lot of neat plants. She will share more of them tomorrow. As you can imagine hummingbirds like this plant. You might remember that Mom planted some Coral Honeysuckle at the Hummingbird Cottage. ~ATCAD

Front Beach with Fenris

We went to another drum circle, but it's not just about the drumming. You can go sailing in the Sound.

And of course there are beautiful sunsets.

 Best of all Front Beach in Ocean Springs is Pet Friendly. ~Fenris, reporting for ATCAD