Check this out!!  It is American Bittersweet, Celastrus scandens.  It is a twining, woody vine that can grow to more than 50 feet!!  It can be seen all around our mountains, climbing over (sometimes taking over) the trees.  

 

I've been waiting to get this picture.  The yellow seeds have just started to pop open showing bright red berries!!  Pretty soon the leaves will fall off, and all you see is the vine with bright yellow and red berries:  very festive.  I've seen these vines used in the floral industry, but I don't know how to preserve them so that the berries don't fall off all over the place.  Probably not a good decoration for homes with pets or small children.

 

Be sure to notice Bittersweet on your walks or rides around the neighborhood.  It is beautiful to see out in Nature.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

Here's another picture of my nemesis, poison ivy. This time showing fall color, AND you can see the hairy roots.

 

My friend Sandy Bradley was also a Girl Scout, back in the day....and she KNOWS how to recognize Poison ivy.  She just couldn't remember this jingle about it:

 

Leaves of THREE, let it be....  or this one:

 

You can shake hands with five fingers, but not with THREE.

 

 

However you remember it, DON'T TOUCH IT!!!

Not all THREE leaved plants are poisonous, but if you're not sure, just leave them alone.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

On Monday, while we were all inside making soup, knitting hats, shivering against the cold,  our friend Al was riding his bike up Brasstown Bald.  He even took a picture for posterity.  I know you've seen Al riding his bike all over our mountain.  It's the first thing he does when he gets to Five Forks:  a celebratory ride, twice around the loop!!

 

We used to think "that guy is crazy,"  But now we know that he's dedicated to exercise and good health.  And he loves a good, brisk bike ride.

 

And speaking of dedication, we'll talk about Patty Tegtman next.   ;)~   She's the marathon runner.  

 

BE HEALTHY, BE HAPPY!!!

 

I told you!!!    We saw this Trail Tree in Meeks park on the ridge line trail.  The bend is about 7 feet off the ground.  I think that qualifies as a horse and rider tree.  How exciting to see another one. 

 

I can't wait til our next hiking adventure;  keeping my eyes open, looking for Indian Trail Trees.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

Remember I told you about the roots on poison ivy?  Unlike other vines, poison ivy has hairy roots.  

 

We saw this growing on the big oak tree at the big right turn on Stonebriar, just below George and Priscilla's.  I'm not calling IT beautiful, but it is a beautiful example of poison ivy roots.  Even though I can't see the leaves, I know it's poison ivy.

 

Don't touch it!!!!!  All parts of the plant (including the roots) are covered in a heavy oil, Urusheol, that causes a dermatitis reaction in most people.  EVEN IN THE WINTER!!

 

So, look but don't touch!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

Have you ever noticed this tree on Five Forks Drive, in front of the Geene's house?  It is a very special oak tree.  We believe it is an Indian trail tree.  There are lots of them in the mountains, especially in North Georgia.

 

We've been reading about them:  fascinating!!  

 

Long before road signs and highways, native people needed ways to mark their paths through the woods;  to find their way home, to find sources of water or danger.  Some clever, unknown person decided to bend young oak saplings in a particular direction to send messages to their fellow travellers.  And these trees became known as "Indian Sign Posts."

 

Most trail trees are bent about 3 feet off the ground, with a horizontal section, and an upright trunk coming off of it.  At the corner where the tree grows upright there is a "nose," and this is what points the way.  Later, trail trees needed to be seen by people on horseback, so there are also trail trees bent 8 feet off the ground.  They are known as "Horse and Rider" trail trees.  These trees also send messages, just higher up to be seen from horseback.

 

Trail trees were bent for many reasons.  They point out direction of travel, sources of food and water, caves or safe areas to hide, or even to give false messages to an enemy, leading them away from a village or campsite.  Before bridges were built, people needed to know where they could safely cross rivers or streams.  Trail trees were bent to point out shallow crossing places.

 

I'm not sure if anybody still bends oak saplings to send messages, but, fortunately there are many survivors of the practice.  They are historical monuments now, and national treasures.  (My opinion.)

 

Now that we know what they are, we are always on the lookout for Indian Trail Trees.  We know of at least one in Meeks Park on the hiking trail.  I can't remember if it's low (to advise walkers) or high (to be seen from the back of a horse.) I'll look next time we're there.  I hope you will discover some too.

 

If you'd like to learn more about Indian Trail Trees, go to:   Mountain Stewards

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boy, were we surprised to see four Monarchs and a bunch of American Painted Ladies fluttering all over the Chrysanthemum.  I thought they had all migrated south by now.  Well, they probably have by NOW, but this was last week before the cold front.

 

We love seeing Monarchs in the garden.  They are so floaty, and pretty.  They have been feeding on zinnias, marigolds, and this chrysanthemum.   They don't use these plants for their caterpillars, though.  They lay their eggs in milkweed, Asclepias spp.  There is a huge patch of orange butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, down in the meadow near the gate.  It blooms June - September.  I have a good size plant in my garden just for the Monarchs, but the deer keep pruning it!!  Oh well.  Apparently, they are still reproducing, because we see them in the garden late summer and early fall.  

 

Keep looking, they may not ALL have flown south.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

My friends who love "leaf peeping" on the Blue Ridge Parkway sent me these two pictures with commentary.

 

This is the night we arrived.  Picture taken from our balcony at the Lodge in Peaks of Otter.  You couldn't see anything!! The next morning we took this picture from the same place.  What a difference 16 hours can make in the mountains!!

 

 

We KNOW that's true!!!!  Thanks for sharing!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

 

 

Early in September, I posted this picture of Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum.  It was pretty then, but look at it now!!!  Many sourwoods in our neighborhood are showing fall color.   My Peterson Field Guide calls the color "crimson" but I see lots of colors and they are all kinda different:  some orange, some red, some showing pink.  But you can tell it's sourwood by the seed pods still on the trees.  They are ivory and quite showy right now.

 

 

I love fall colors in the mountains!!  It changes every day.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!

 

 

It's a good thing this time of year to be able to recognise trees by their bark.  This very distinctive bark belongs to Black Locust, Robinia pseudo acacia.  The bark is thick, dark brown, and deeply furrowed.  It has feathery compound leaves, that are dropping as we speak. 

 

Black Locust is native to North America, and believed to have originated in the Appalachian Mountains.  The wood is strong, and durable in the soil.  Early settlers valued this quality and used it for building timber.  Today it is widely used for fence posts.  I've read that Locust posts set in the ground will remain sturdy for 50 years!!!

 

They grow like weeds, sending up new shoots from the roots.  It's best to keep them under control in this new sprout stage, because they soon grow thorns all along the trunk.  They are really hard to pull out then!!

 

Black Locust blooms in May and June with showy, white, fragrant blossoms in clusters.  When it's blooming, it's easy to see that it is a member of the Pea family.  And the seeds are encased in 2-6 inch flat brown pea-like pods that remain on the tree from September to April.  The seeds are eaten by bobwhite, mourning doves, rabbits, and deer;  but the roots, bark, leaves, and seeds are poisonous to humans and some livestock.

 

At one time the bark of Black Locust was used by American Indians as remedies for headache, stomach pains, and nausea, but because the tree contains toxic substances, it is no longer used medicinally.  Today the wood is used for fence posts, railroad ties, and mine timbers.  And since the trees grow so fast, they are favored by conservationists for erosion control.

 

So, what may be a weed to one person may be building materials to another.  I think it is beautiful when it's blooming, so I'll post Black Locust again in the spring.  Maybe I'll learn more about it by then.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!