A Visit to High Falls

I went to Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge to see the first pair of Trumpeter Swans to be in Georgia. I also did a little hiking, and driving, but found little to talk about.  There was neither much scenery or birds.

On the way home, I stopped at High Falls State Park to check out the falls. It was strange because they were on the end of a dam.  But there was a hiking trail along the Towaliga river which was very wild below the falls.  This is the tallest falls in middle Georgia.

Snail Kite Meetup

February 18, 2018

When Cindy invited me to join her to play in Florida, all I had to do is meet up with her.  She had all the fun lined up. One of the tours we did was the Kissimmee Swamp Tours to look for snail kites. This turned out to be a fabulous trip.  The airboats are driven by a a person who is a good boat operator and who knows how to find wildlife. And, although the boat, holds six people, we were the only two on it so each had a seat, and an unimpeded camera view, to the action. 

Sandhill cranes share a pasture with cows a few miles before our destination

Ready to leave

We started seeing snail kites before we were out of sight of the landing

We traveled though land that was either a plant-filled lake or mix that is both land and water

And had to stop frequently to see another snail kite

We found this purple gallinule, who had spent the winter here, drinking from a tiny puddle in an almost dry area of the lake..

How the snail kite carries its snail

This one was with two other kites in the same tree and was maybe being a little harrassed

I think this is a male - they are supposed to be slate colored

This bird shows the thin, very hooked bill needed to extract the snails from their shells

We saw several other species and caught this great blue heron feeding its chick

A female kite hovering

A second purple gallinule foraging

I think this is another male, but females were most abundant

Snail kite in flight

I found the cattle egrets spent the winter here also - none was getting its breeding plumage yet

Another view

Female working on nest - we found three but none seemed to have eggs yet

Kingfisher from underneath - it was flying at the same speed and trajectory  as the airboat

Ring-billed gulls were waiting at the take-out

We were focused on finding all the snail kites we could to get the best possible pictures.  This will also be a great place to enjoy alligators in a few weeks.  If you would like to reserve a trip, click here.

Those Atlanta Botanical Garden Orchids!

Arrangement of plants near the entrance to the orchid hall

One of the neatest perks from being a member of Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is that I have reciprocal privileges at many other gardens across the country.  I found it cost $21.95 per adult to visit but that it was free with my Wildflower Center pass.

I totally enjoyed the grounds but was blown away by the orchid exhibit and spent a few hours there.

I had walk down a hall that had both planters of orchids and drawings of orchids. A side room held more of the orchid paintings.

A long hall took a while to transverse 

I reached the first of three rooms of orchids and could not decide where to look first. Orchids and companion plants were in large pots, arranged in wall displays, hanging from the wooden structures and sitting in smaller pots.

A singing arrangement

A wall of orchids and bromeliads

Another planter of vibrant blooms

Then I started to focus on individual blooms and they were also superb.

Already reaching overload here

This orchid seemed to be in business ataire

Another larger view

And single blooms that combine form and color

I never realized how many orchard forms there are

Living walls were formed of orchids and other tropical plants planted in vertical planters

Another area of the main room with a wooded path

I loved this flower design - and there were a chain of them making up the whole bloom stalk

A volunteer showed me several of her favorite flowers - this was one

Pure white was in short supply but was restful

Before going back to the flames

And the bizare

These blooms felt almost like fancy daffidils

And some bizarre shapes

The Lady Slipper clan was numerous - this was one of my favorites

Three arches were covered with this orchid

Pretty in pinks

More of the living walls

All you need is this one

These look like the azaleas that are blooming outside

One of the things that most amazed me was that I had never known that the vanilla bean comes from an orchid. Aztecs somehow figured out how to harvest and ferment the seed pod to release the intense odor and flavor. It takes nine months for the fertilized blooms to develop into the seed pod and another nine months to ferment it and dry it out, releasing the wonderful fragrance that is not present earlier. So it is really pretty cheap.

The vanilla orchid vine had no blooms

The vanilla orchid flower. Photo: Dan Sams/Getty Images

My friend Natalie and I share a passion for plants, gardens, and gardening and often tour gardens together. On this occasion, she had taken a day off from helping her mother recover from hip surgery to go to Longwood Gardens. (So even though we were not together, we were in the same kind of place. )She and I had a duel of pictures and words, each trying to claim that she had had the BEST orchid experience. I think it may have been a tie.  But I think it was close to a tie. So now I can recommend two gardens for magnificant orchards; this one, and Longwood Gardens.

And if you have a favorite orchid garden, please tell us about it in the comments.