This little guy was spotted on the way to the trailhead on the street across from Science Hill Church in Asheboro, NC. We swung back around and took him off the road so that he wouldn’t get squished. This is the first E. Box Turtle we have seen in North Carolina!

The images above and below are some pictures of the trail system. The two pictures were taken on Robbins Branch Trail.

This last photo was our final stop before hiking out to the trailhead. Surrounded by these beautiful rocks we took a break, laying out a blanket  to relax. This spot was the only location along the trails that had such a large outcropping of rocks.

The first stop we made to take lunch was just on the other side of a creek along Hannah’s Creek trail. While packing up I noticed this butterfly flying around and couldn’t help but notice that it had an affinity for my wife. It kept circling around her and landing either on her head or back. This Hackberry Emporer is a first find for us and proved both to be beautiful and entertaining.

References:  

Ultimately, it would be great to spend more time up north as we have family and most of our friends still live in the area. Unfortunately, when we spend time up north it is mostly consumed with family time. At some point I would love to hike a larger section of this trail. This, like other large cross-country trails (i.e. Appalachian Trail and Continental Divide Trail) allow an opportunity to see more of the amazing landscapes across the United States while connecting multiple states together, preserving large stretches of habitats and ecosystems. Since we have moved to North Carolina, I hope to spend time in the Smokies hiking along the Appalachian Trail. Until then I will settle for local state parks, wilderness areas, and national forests that provide an alternative to extended trails.

References:

Did you find it? It’s on the lower third of the picture/trunk. This little guy is a Thamnophis proximus (Western Ribbon Snake). I would have passed him up if it weren’t for the PVC trap that I had on this tree.

Here’s a closer look. As a field collecting goes these guys are particularly difficult as they can squeeze out of traps, are partially arboreal, and are rather quick.

I was particularly amazed at the variations of pigmentation and complexity found in the “crucifix” on each individuals back.

Patterns of the cross varied from the dark ink blotting found in the first individual, to the light, almost absent, cross of the individual above and below.

I hope these few pictures have shown some of the detail and beautiful colorations in these little treasures.

This beauty is Clathrus columnatus also known as the Columned Stinkhorn. Belonging to the Clathraceae family this group of stinkhorns is characterized by it’s branched stems and lattice-work structures. Along with Phallaceae, a related group, these fungi disperse spores in a foul but interesting way. The odor emitted by these fungi attracts flies and other insects at which time the insects either eat pieces of the fungus or end up covering their legs in spores. Thus, the spores are defecated or spread when the insects land propagating and dispersing the stinkhorn.

As I was doing some investigating about this species I came across a particularly interesting incident that took place on October 31, 1889. In the Botanical Gazette published in 1890 there is a story from Professor Gerald McCarthy of Raleigh, North Carolina in which he describes several hogs dying from ingesting a fungus. He states that the fungus “…grows in patches in oak woods and openings and is greedily sought after and eaten by hogs who are generally killed by it within 12 or 15 hours.” Investigation of the specimen sent proved to be that of C. columnatus Bosc. The description later goes on to inquire as to whether other hogs in the Southeast have a fondness for this species too. An interesting idea and I would be curious if this is a common occurrence within farm animals, particularly swine. Below is the Botanical Gazette with the above mentioned quote on page 45.

References:

I also enjoyed walking to this section of beach. It’s the northern edge of the research forest along North Carolina’s Albemarle Sound.

And finally, I wanted to include this photo as my future wife and I visited this beautiful lighthouse while she was visiting. The Bodie Island Lighthouse is located south of Nags Head and is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks in North Carolina.

References:

The photo above is of the Gemeinhaus (1788) just outside a reconstruction of the French and Indian War Fort. Directly behind this palisade is a set of two trails, the first is part of the Bethabara Greenway while the second is connected to Historic Bethabara Park. The Bethabara Greenway trail is paved and spans 2.7 miles stretching across Bethabara Park and Historic Bethabara Park mainly following Mill Creek and Monarcas Creek. We briefly walked this trail doing a bit of bird watching. In fact, this was the first official birding trip for my father-in-law. As part of Historic Bethabara Park the second trail (Woodland Loop) follows along Monarcas Creek and is connected to a series of trails circling around a forest. This great dirt path follows along a riparian zone eventually veering into the woods.

Lately I have been focusing most of my interest in birds looking to the canopy and understory, but I decided this time to do some investigating around the creek bed. Having been warm for weeks I was curious what might be hiding under these rocks. The first rock I flipped proved to be a success!! Although, I lost the salamander in silt and surrounding rocks. Not wanting to give up I flipped the next rock……and sure enough, there was another individual with a special treat!

This is a Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera) with some eggs. This beautiful salamander is a lifer for me!!! After some reading I found that females lay eggs under rocks in streams and usually stay around guarding their egg clutch. After which the larvae stay in the stream for a year or two until metamorphosis and then become a semi-terrestrial amphibian.

I was able to get a few good pictures at which time I decided that it was a good idea to return her back to the eggs she was guarding. I am definitely interested in going back to this park to do some further investigating and to check out the rest of the trails around this area. Here is the list of birds we spotted, small but still had a fun time.

Song Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

American Robin

Eastern Towhee

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Common Grackle

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Turkey Vulture

Mourning Dove

References: