Monthly Archives: May 2015

Ramble Report May 28 2015

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Important reminder:

New Ramble time for June, July and August: Rambles will begin at 8:00AM. We
will return to the 8:30AM start time in September.

Here
is the link to Don Hunter’s album with today’s Ramble photos.

Today’s post was written by Dale.

It was another beautiful morning, especially since thunderstorms had been predicted but never showed up. Twenty-three Ramblers met at the Arbor and
heard Rosemary read a selection from Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. Rosemary’ s 74th birthday is tomorrow and she
is celebrating by taking her own solo “walk in the woods.” We hope she
fares better than the Bryson quotation she read:

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Ramble Report May 21 2015

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Important notices:

New Ramble time for June, July and August: Rambles will begin at
8:00AM for all of June, July and August. (This is to avoid the heat that begins
to build up later in the morning.) We will return to the 8:30AM start time in
September.

Here is the
link for the poll about replacing the Wisteria on the arbor at the Garden. See below for an explanation.

The Tallassee tract public input meeting, scheduled for 6:30PM, May 28,
has been cancelled. More
information.

Here
is the link to Don Hunter’s album of Ramble photos.

It was a beautiful morning with a nice breeze.  Twenty-four Ramblers met at the Arbor to hear
a reading on horsetails provided by Dale from An Almanac for Moderns by Donald Culross Peattie:

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Wisteria poll

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Letter from Hugh Nourse:

Nature Rambler regulars know that the wisteria arbor rafters have become dangerously rotted. The Garden has to do something about it. I suggested that if they are going to fix the arbor we would like to see them take out the invasive, non-native Wisteria sinensis and replace it with a non-invasive native species, like Wisteria frutescens. Another position is that the W. sinensis came from Berckman’s Orchard, now the site of the Augusta National Golf Club, and should be preserved. I suggested that it was an historical mistake to introduce this plant to the south and that we should not perpetuate it. The Garden is about conservation and this Wisteria is against all those principles.

We need to know what the Nature Ramblers think about this issue. Any letter we write to Dr. Nicholls needs
to show how much our group cares about this issue. Please respond so that we
will have the data to support our position.

To actually vote you must not only select one of the options, you must press the “Vote” button. When you do that your vote is counted and you get to see the cumulative votes so far. If you don’t press the Vote button you haven’t voted.

This poll will close in one week (midnight, May 29).

Thank you for participating!

Hugh Nourse

Ramble Report May 14 2015

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Twenty three Ramblers turned out today,
including Silvio’s parents, one of whom turned out to have been a student in
one of my classes 30+ years ago. We were delighted that they could come and
enjoy a walk in the woods with us!

Click
here to see Don Hunter’s album of today’s ramble.

Hugh contributed today’s reading today, an excerpt from John
Burroughs’ essay, Nature Near Home:

After long experience I am convinced that the
best place to study nature is at one’s home, on the farm, in the mountains, on
the plains, by the sea, no matter where that may be. One has it all about him
then. The seasons bring to his door the great revolving cycle of wild life,
floral and faunal, and he need miss no part of the show.

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Ramble Report May 7 2015

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Today’s post was written by Hugh Nourse. Don Hunter’s
album of ramble photos is here.

Today 23 ramblers met at the Arbor at
8:30AM, where Rosemary read a discussion of the colors yellow and green.

Today’s
reading: Rosemary contributed a poem called Yellow; you can
hear the author, Ken Nordine, reading it himself here

Today’s
route:
Our route today was through the International Garden to the Purple Trail.  Down the Purple Trail to the Orange
Trail.  Left on the Orange Trail to the
Heath Bluff.  The return was up the
Orange Trail to the bridge to the Flower Garden, and through the Gardens to the
Visitor Center.

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PLANTING A PIEDMONT PRAIRIE

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On Earth Day 2015 (April 22, 2015) volunteers gathered to
plant seedlings of more than a dozen different prairie plant species on the
power line right of way at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. As many
Nature Ramblers know, this part of the power line right of way is to become a
restored Piedmont Prairie honoring Elaine Nash. These 740 “plugs”,
each containing one or more seedlings, were grown from seed that was first
stratified for 11 weeks before sowing. This enormous effort was the work of and
overseen by Heather Alley, the Garden’s Conservation Horticulturalist. Heather kindly
provided to me the following information about the species planted and/or seed
mixtures that were sown. Thank you Heather!

PRAIRIE 740 plugs TOTAL

Scientific name

No.
plugs

Anemone virginiana

72

Coreopsis lanceolata

36

Helianthus atrorubens

72

Monarda fistulosa

108

Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides

108

Ratibida pinnata

216

Salvia azurea

36

Salvia urticifolia

8

Silphium compositum

2

Symphyotrichum georgianum

10

Tradescantia virginiana

72

Floodplain 118 plugs TOTAL

Juncus sp.

50

Carex sp.

50

Senna marilandica

18

PRAIRIE SEEDS BROADCAST MIX
“A”

MIX SCATTERED THINLY ALONG UPPER EASTSIDE ABOVE DOGWOOD

Scientific Name

Amount(oz)

Seed Lot

Chrysogonum marilandica

5.6

2013

Liatris spicata

14.1

2014

Monarda punctata

2012

Parthenium quincefolia

4.2

2013

Pityopsis graminifolia

1.4

2012

Schizachyrium  scoparium

1

2012

Solidago petiolaris

3.8

2012

Solidago petiolaris

4

2013

Solidago ptarmicoides

8

2014

Sorghastrum elliottii

2012

PRAIRIE SEEDS BROADCAST MIX
“A-2”

SCATTERED THINLY ALONG LOWER EASTSIDE BELOW DOGWOOD

Monarda punctata

3.4

2014

Solidago nemoralis

1.1

2013

Solidago petiolaris

7.4

2013

Solidago ptarmicoides

11

2014

PRAIRIE SEEDS BROADCAST mix
“B”

MIX SCATTERED THINLY ALONG ENTIRE WEST SIDE:

Helianthus verticillatus

2012

Lezpedeza virgianiana

2011

Monarda fistulosa

2014

Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides

13

2012

Saccharum alopecuroides

6.6

2013

Solidago arguta var.
caroliniana

11.2

Solidago nemoralis

8.8

2012

Sorghastrum ellliotii

2014

FLOODPLAIN SEED BROADCAST MIX:

Amount

Cyperus odora

3.2

2014

Andropogon glomeratus

14

2012

Carex frankii

4

2014

Chasmanthium sessifolium

12

2013

Ramble Report April 30 2015

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Today’s
report was written by Dale Hoyt. The photos are, as always, selected from Don
Hunter’s album of this ramble which can be found here.

Events of Interest to Ramblers:

1.     Terry Stewart told us there is an exhibit
on the Dust Bowl currently at the ACC Library. Our library is one of only a few in
the country to be selected for this travelling exhibit.

2.     Bob Ambrose will be the featured
reader at Athens Word of Mouth
next Wednesday night (May 6). Here is a link to the text of his reading: To Go To Patagonia – poems from the far lands. Bob tells
me, “The Athens Word of Mouth is a diverse open poetry community, meeting
upstairs at the Globe the first Wednesday evening of each month. Open mike
readings begin at 8:00 p.m. The featured reading is around 9:15. Visitors are
always welcome.”

3.     Weds. morning, May 6, there will be a
guided nature walk at Sandy Creek Nature Center. Meet at the Education and
Visitor’s Center at 9:00AM

Twenty three
Ramblers showed up on this beautiful spring morning, including three
first-timers, two of whom were just looking at Athens as a possible retirement
location.

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