Today’s Ramble was led by Melissa Ray.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All the photos in
this post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Don Hunter.

Twenty five Ramblers met today.

Announcement:

Beginning next week Rambles meet at 8:30 AM (to avoid the summer heat).
Rambles should end at approximately 10 AM.

Today’s reading: Bob
Ambrose, our poet laureate, read an original composition inspired by the
evolution of plant life on earth. You can read it in the Rambler email with the
link to this blog post.

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Dale Hoyt.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All the photos in
this post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Don
Hunter, Linda Chafin and Dale Hoyt.

Twentyseven Ramblers met today.

Announcements:

Saturday, May 20, at 12:00 to 2:00 PM:

Annual
Meeting of the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Natural History

GMNH
Annex, 4435 Atlanta Highway, Athens 

Light
snacks and adult beverages are free!

You and
your friends can tour the Museum Annex, our equivalent of the Smithsonion’s
“attic.”

All Ramblers are invited!

Directions:
Take Atlanta Highway going west; turn left at Jimmie Daniels rd. (just past
Sam’s Club). Sam’s Club will be on your left and the Museum Annex is the
warehouse on the right. Turn right and park in the lot. Go around the building
to the loading dock and enter.

Next week’s
Ramble will concentrate on medicinal plants. It will be lead by Melissa Ray, an
Odum School graduate student.

No Reading today.

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Linda Chafin.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All
the photos in this post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Linda Chafin and Don Hunter.

Twenty Ramblers met today.

Announcements:

Saturday, May 13, at 10:00AM:

Natural History of the Scull Shoals Historic Site and the
Durham Herb Walk – Geology, Hydrology and Plant Life

A walk guided by our own Don Hunter. You can learn more about the
historical significance of Scull Shoals at the Friends of Scull Shoals website. Directions: From Athens
drive south to Watkinsville; take GA15 south out of Watkinsville for about 19
miles to Macedonia Rd. Turn left on Macedonia Rd. and travel
approximately 2.4 miles to Forest Service Rd 1234 (gravel road) on the left.
Turn left onto a gravel road and travel approximately 2 miles to Scull Shoals
Historic Site.

Wednesday, May 17, at 5:30PM: Greenway Expansion
Celebration

A free Ice Cream social to
celebrate the expansion of the ACC Greenway. Click here for
more information.

Saturday, May 20, 12-2 PM: Annual Meeting of the Friends of
the Georgia Museum of Natural
History, GMNH Annex, 4435 Atlanta Highway, Athens 

Ramblers
and friends are welcome!

Free
refreshments, music and opportunity to see the research collections!

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Dale Hoyt.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All the photos in
this post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Dale Hoyt.

Seventeen Ramblers met today.

Announcements:

Saturday, May 13, at 10:00AM:

Natural History of the Scull Shoals
Historic Site and the Durham Herb Walk – Geology, Hydrology and Plant Life

A walk
guided by our own Don Hunter. You can learn more about the historical
significance of Scull Shoals at the Friends of Scull Shoals website.
Directions: From Athens drive south
to Watkinsville; take GA15 south out of Watkinsville for about 19 miles to
Macedonia Rd. Turn left on Macedonia Rd. and travel approximately 2.4
miles to Forest Service Rd 1234 (gravel road) on the left. Turn left onto a
gravel road and travel approximately 2 miles to Scull Shoals Historic Site.

Wednesday, May 17, at 5:30PM:

Greenway
Expansion Celebration

A free Ice Cream social to
celebrate the expansion of the ACC Greenway. Click here for
more information.

Today’s readings
were contributed by Elisabeth and Marguerite. You can read them in the Rambler
email with the link to this blog post.

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Linda Chafin.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All the photos in
this post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Don Hunter
and Dale Hoyt.

Seventeen Ramblers met today.

Announcements:

Gary
Crider will present a program on control/eradication of invasive plants next Thursday,
May 4, at the Oconee Rivers Audubon Society meeting.

Today’s reading was
read by Linda Chafin, an excerpt from an essay titled The Death of a Tree from the book Dune
Boy: The Early Years of a Naturalist, by Edwin Way Teale. You can find the
text in the email with the link to today’s post. Teale was a
popular mid-twentieth century nature writer. His most well known books were
devoted to the North American seasons: North
with the Spring, Journey into Summer, Autumn across America and Wandering through Winter. These all
became Book-of-the-Month club selections and the winter book won the Pulitzer
Prize in 1966.

Today’s route:
We went down the cement walkway to the Dunson Native Flora Garden and wandered
our way through the DNFG until it was time to return.

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Dale Hoyt.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All the photos but one in
this post are compliments of Don. The other photo is compliments of Emily.)

Today’s post was written by Don, Linda
and Dale.

Nineteen Ramblers met today.

Announcement:

Don will be doing a lunchtime presentation of the wildflowers, natural
arches, and waterfalls he photographed during a recent photography safari to
the region around Cumberland Falls, Kentucky. It will be in the Adult Classroom
in the Visitor Center immediately following the Ramble and social hour next
Thursday, April 27. Bring or purchase a lunch.

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Linda Chafin.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. Don also has posted a sequence of photos showing the aggressive encounter between two Carolina anoles; description later in this post. (All the photos in this post
are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Don Hunter and Linda Chafin with a
few additions by Dale Hoyt.

Twenty-two Ramblers met today.

Announcements:

Emily
announced that the cancelled April 5th walk at Sandy Creek Nature Center has
been rescheduled for Wednesday, May 3. 
Mike Wharton will lead the walk through the managed forest project areas
recently cleared and planted.

There
are still a few openings for the Rock and Shoals walk this Saturday.  Meet at the Shade Garden arbor to car pool
over to the trail head. An excellent survey of the geology, history and flora
of Georgia’s granite outcrops is available at this
link.

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was led by Dale Hoyt.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album from today’s Ramble. (All the photos in this
post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Dale Hoyt.

Twenty-nine Ramblers today.

Red-bellied snake

In lieu of a reading this morning we passed
around a small Red-bellied snake, brought in by Jeff. He found the snake in

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was lead by Linda Chafin.

Here’s the link to Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All
the photos in this post are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Dale Hoyt and Don
Hunter.

Twenty Ramblers met today.

Today’s reading: Linda
read Weather by Faith Shearin. You
can find it here. Linda also thought that
Ramblers would find this piece about the benefits of
walking in nature of interest.

Announcements: Guided walk at Sandy Creek Nature Center
9:00 a.m., Wednesday, April 5.  Mike
Wharton will be leading a walk through the areas recently cleared and planted
as part of the managed forest project at the center. (You can always check our Announcements page for the latest information about upcoming events.)

Today’s route: On the other side of the parking area to
examine a Red Buckeye, the down the mulched path to the Dunson Native Flora
Garden. Then through the garden at our usual “speed of botany.”

Frost damaged leaves and male cones of Ginkgo

Continue reading →

Today’s Ramble was lead by Dale Hoyt.

Here’s the linkto Don’s Facebook album for today’s Ramble. (All the photos in this post
are compliments of Don.)

Today’s post was written by Don Hunter and
Linda Chafin.

30 Ramblers today

Announcement: The
Athens Historical Society will conduct a Ramble
in the Ruins around the old Athens Brick Company site at Sandy Creek Nature
Center on Saturday, March 25, 3:00 p.m. Details can
be found here.

Today’s
route:  Leaving the Shade Garden arbor
we made our way along the back of the conservatory and through the Heritage
Garden on the way to the path down to the Orange Trail spur from the Flower
Gardens down to the Orange Trail and it’s creek.

American South Renovation Garden:

Georgia Rockcress

Georgia
Rockcress (Arabis
georgiana) was recently listed

Continue reading →