This morning I took a bit of time away from the computer and the rewrites I’m working on, and hiked down into a place called Shakerag Hollow. Shakerag, so named because once upon a time, you could go down there at night, shake a white rag, and the moonshiners would emerge from hiding to sell you their wares, is a beautiful wooded cove not far from here. This time of year it is carpeted with wildflowers — Downy Phlox and Dwarf Larkspur, Rue Anemone and Bloodroot, Trout Lily and Dutchman’s Britches, Celandine Poppy and Wild Geranium, May Apple, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, and several different species of wild violet, and, of course, the trillium — Southern Red, Large-Flowered, and Sweet Betsy (also known as Purple Toadshade).
Each year during the early spring, when I need a break from my normal gym routine, and a bit of time away from my computer, I will put my macro lens on my camera, hike down into the hollow, and take pictures of the blooms. With the travel I’ve done this month, I hadn’t gotten down into Shakerag, and I missed a good many of the flowers I usually see. But this morning I finally laced on my hiking books and spent the morning happily snapping away.
It was warm and just breezy enough to be annoying — even the lightest breeze can make the flowers bob and dance, which, in turn, makes it difficult to get good photos. But still, I managed to get some good photos. I also heard some early spring migrants in the trees overhead — Parula, Black-and-white, and Black-throated Green Warblers, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and a few others.
All in all, a lovely morning.