March 5 2014 SCNC Ramble

Fourteen of the faithful gathered on this chilly, overcast morning to see what we could find in the way of "nature stuff." The photographs in this post are by Don Hunter; you can see all his pictures here. We were also accompanied by Carmen Champaign, Sandy Creek Nature Center's superb naturalist.  

The next guided walk at SCNC will be Wednesday, April 2, 2014, and our leader will be Hugh Nourse. We hope you will all be able to come.
 
Be sure to scroll to the bottom to see the recipe for Pumpkin bread with Chocolate chips.

Our route:  We started out on the Pine Ridge trail, turned off to follow the

February 5 2014 SCNC Ramble

This Ramble Report was written by Don Hunter with a few additions by Dale Hoyt. The photos are by Don and Hugh Nourse.

On Wednesday, February 5, 2014, fourteen Ramblers gathered at the Sandy Creek Nature Center to walk the trails, just as the overnight rains were moving out of the area.  The emphasis for the ramble was winter tree identification, with a dash of Marbled Salamander.  We left the Education and Visitor Center and walked north to the Kestrel Trail, right onto the Screech Owl Trial, briefly on Cook’s Trail, then right on to the Hooded Warbler Trail, then right on to the Pine Ridge Trail back to the Visitor Center.

January 16 2014 Ramble Report

This post was written by Don Hunter. I selected a few of his photographs from his Flickr sets to accompany his narrative; you can find them here.

Twenty Ramblers, including several very welcome new folks, gathered at the Visitor Center parking lot on the afternoon of January 16 for a Ramble on what turned out to be a beautiful and surprisingly comfortable afternoon.  Both the Sun and everyone’s spirits

Cold? No -- just a little chilly

were high and bright as the group headed off from the parking lot for today’s Ramble, organized by Don, Dale and Emily.  The main areas of concentration today were lichens, fungi and liverworts.  We left the parking lot and headed down the path towards the International Bridge, then on to the Purple Trail.  At the river, we headed left on the Orange Trail and followed it around the Beaver Pond to the foot bridge across the creek, where, after a short walk past the bridge, we viewed liverworts in the stream and a budding Round Lobed Hepatica.  We then returned to the bridge and headed up the trail to the Flower Garden and on back to the Visitor Center.  The following narrative is a detailed description of the various interesting things viewed on the Ramble.  Also included are several things not viewed on the Ramble but were observed earlier on the same route in preparation for the Ramble and are worth sharing.

SCNC Ramble Report Dec. 3 2013

Announcements

• ·        The next trail walk at Sandy Creek Nature Center (Nature Center, not the Park) will be on Wednesday morning, Feb. 5, 2014, at 9AM, followed by coffee, tea and homemade goodies. Everyone is invited! There will be no walk in December or January. The walks next year will be on the first Wednesday of the month. Mark your calendars!
• ·        One of our Ramblers, Alice Woodruff, is a potter and invites all you Ramblers to her Christmas Sale open house, Dec. 7-8, 10AM to 5PM at 35 S. Main St., Watkinsville, GA; phone: 706-207-5175.
• ·        Reminder: Dale or Hugh will be happy to have company whenever they ramble at the State Botanical Garden this winter. They will notify all the Ramblers of the date and time by email. (It is likely not to be early in the morning and the days/times may vary, depending on weather. Think of it as a group of friends just spontaneously getting together. The Ramble Reports will also be on winter hiatus.)

Be sure to visit Don Hunter's facebook album to see all the photos from this walk. 

This post is written by Dale Hoyt and Emily Carr.

We began in front of the SCNC Education and Visitor Center with 18 people, a mixture of Nature Ramblers, newbies and folks who have previously participated in SCNC walks. It was a wonderful turnout for a warm (for this time of year) morning when rain was forecast.