Upstate Master Naturalist Meeting 1/26/12

(For pictures, please click here.)

Our meeting was held at the Pickens County Museum of Art and History. I had never heard of this museum before and it has existed since 1975. The building was a jail from 1902 until 1975. The exhibits were fantastic and full of artifacts. I would definitely recommend people to go check out this museum.

After the museum, we met at Hagood Mill and had lunch. Carol Bozarth (with assistant, Talley) did a demo of Open Hearth Cooking. This was a fabulous demonstration! They made hoe cakes, apple pie, coffee, and even roasted the coffee beans - all over an open fire. After lunch and the demo, we had a nature hike led by Joe Townsend, naturalist with the Hagood Mill Field School.

Here is a list of things that we saw along the trail:

1. Black Walnut trees

2. Resurrection Fern

3. Honey Locusts

4. Basswood - Bees made hives in this.

5. Holly

6. Lycopodium

7. Beech - with copper leaves

8. White Pine - look for pink lady slippers in this area around May

9. Rattlesnake plantain - area is full of Catesby Trillium in the spring

10. Hepatica - area has northern maidenhair fern, lady fern, hay scented fern in the spring

11. Cranefly orchid - purple leaves, won’t see bloom at leaves at the same time.

12. Ginger - area is rich with Indian Pink, blue star, bellwort in the spring

13. Daisy Fleabane

14. Foamflower

15. Black Cohosh

16. Pipsissewa

17. Oconee Bells

18. Silverbell - by the covered bridge, has striped bark

19. Sparkleberry

20. Dogwood -Named for Dag or Dague meaning skewer

21. Climbing Hydrangea - fragrant white blooms that are to see because they are usually at the tops of the trees trying to get the sun.

22. River Oats - or “fish on a pole”

23. Virginia Sweetspire

24. Putty root orchid.

At the end of the hike, some people chose to continue hiking with Joe across the road. We were the first group to be on this new trail that they are putting in. Here are the things we saw along the way:

1. Sassafras tree - 1st commodity of the new world, problem with propagating because birds love the seeds (near gas tank beside store)

2. American Hazelnut

3. Pink berries possibly beautyberry along fence of old house

4. Daffodils

5. Honey locust

6. Beehives

7. Hackberry

8. Shortleaf pine

9. Pawpaw trees.

It was a wonderful day and even though it was overcast and sometimes misty, it was a wonderful day to be outdoors! I can’t wait to visit this nature trail again in the spring!