July 2013 – Page 3 – Alice's WanderLand

For years I have thumbed through field guides of flowers trying to identify various varieties from the pictures I take. I do this a lot because my facility to remember plant names is terrible. But along the way certain flowers have leapt out at me and among them is the Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora). I could never believe it was a flower because to me it looks like a mushroom and the habitat they prefer is not commonly available in South Central Florida so I never had the pleasure of actually seeing one. So I got very excited when my friend Boni said she had seen some on our adjoining properties. And sure enough, tonight on our twilight walk Tango and I found this stand emerging from the humus. They are about 3 inches in height, the flower petal is about an inch. They seem almost ghostly in their color and translucence. This shot was taken with the iPhone in dim light. I’ll return tomorrow with the “big” camera and hope to improve on the image. But just as things go bump in the night things also get eaten by nocturnal critters. Speaking for myself this beauty of a flower looks good enough to eat. ☙

Things are moving along at Fawn Hill. There are now two bird feeders up and the birds have definitely found them. They are grateful for a dry place to feed — as this blurry photo through a window shows. There is a wonderful variety of birds here, quite a treat for this Florida gal who is accustomed to cardinals, blue jays, the occasional wren and not much else at her Florida feeder. For years I have known that in Sarasota I was just a bit too far south for the variety of birds that flock to Florida in the winter. The more colorful ones — the finches, orioles, grosbeaks and buntings — stay in the Ocala area. Sarasota does have great water birds and Myakka River State Park always provided a smorgsboard of water fowl.

It has rained here for days. I’ve been told this is a rainforest and my brief — two week — experience would confirm that. When I stand on my front porch I can hear the nearby Potts Branch — a minor tributary of the Little Tennessee River — as it races down from the hills. It provides the name for the road that accesses my house on Fawn Hill. My friend Boni tells me that in times of drought you can use the creek bed as a hiking trail but that certainly is not the case this year. The rushing of the water is somehow soothing, even though I know it is wreaking havoc as it gains momentum and slams into the Little Tennessee. In downtown Franklin there is a 3-4 mile walkway along the Little Tennessee. Tango and I walked a bit of it yesterday and it is significantly higher than it was a week ago.

So much to learn in this new place.☙