Saturday

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  Friends of Lake Norman Spring Wildflower Discovery Hike, 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., Lake Norman State Park, Troutman. These hour-long hikes in search of spring wildflowers will be led by a retired N.C. State Park ranger. More info here.

• Spring Tree ID Hike, 2 p.m., Lake James State Park, Nebo. Check out the new growth of spring on this ranger-led hike on the Holly Discovery Trail. More info here.
• Bentonville in Bloom, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Pretty much what the title says in this program that’s an official event of the NC Science Festival. Learn more here.

Sunday

• Eno River Association Sunday Wildflower Hike: Pump Station, 2 p.m., Northside Christian Church parking lot, 3901 Cole Mill Road, Durham. 1.5-mile hike on the Pump Station Trail at Eno River State Park, in search of the Ladyslipper orchid and more. Registration required, by going here.
• Butterfly Bingo, 2 p.m., Hammocks Beach State Park, Swansboro. Part of the reason for the spring bloom is to keep pollinating butterflies busy. Come see who in particular is flitting about and what exactly they’re pollinating.

New trail opening

We love an opening — a new trail opening — and there’s one Saturday from 10:15 a.m. to 1 p.m., at then Triangle Land Conservancy’s Brumley South Nature Preserve in Chapel Hill. As part of Operation Earth Day, TLC is opening a new 3.5-mile trail network. The event is free, but preregistration is required, by going here.

Earth Day events

For a rundown of Earth Day events in the state, check out the N.C. Environmental Education calendar, here, where you’ll find events on Friday (the actual Earth Day), Saturday and Sunday.

No reason not to GetOut! this weekend!

Enjoy.

The post GetOut! Spring blossoms on Earth Day weekend appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Today, I use a different standard to count down to spring: the appearance of the first trout lily.

Spring wildflowers are on a tight time schedule. Nestled on the forest floor, they must quickly take advantage of the warming sunlight to bloom and set in motion their reproductive cycle. They’re on a deadline because that warmth and sunlight will soon trigger surrounding trees to leaf out and block that precious sunlight. While you may see some blooms as early as January—the perky daffodil and crocus come to mind—they aren’t official harbingers of spring: they’re not native to the region and thus play by a different set of rules. The true sentinels of the season are trout lilies and spring beauties.

In bottomland woods

Typically, the first trout lily appears the third week of February, according to Dave Cook in his “Piedmont Almanac.” But really, with the weather anymore, what’s typical? I watch for a more tangible sign: the first 70-degree day of the year. Which was Tuesday.

This week I’ve been taking lunch breaks where these blooms usually occur first: in floodplain hardwood forests where the rich soils and threat of an imminent canopy blackout prompts an early bloom. Two areas where early blooms are particularly common hereabouts:

• Poet’s Walk at Ayr Mount, Hillsborough. Where this mile-long trail drops down to the Eno, trout lilies and spring beauties shyly pop through here and there. Then, within a day, the spring beauties especially are everywhere.
• Pump Station Access, Eno River State Park, Durham. This 2-mile trail starts off Rivermont Road and drops over a bluff to the Eno. There, the trail has the Eno to the north and a wide floodplain forest to the south, butting up to the bluff. For about a week after the bloom begins, the area is carpeted with spring beauties.

On south- and west- facing hillsides

Another good place to look: hardwood-forested hillsides with a southern or western exposure. The sun, still lower on the southern horizon, hits here first, stays here longer, and offers the extended warming sun these first responders crave. A couple good examples:

• Sycamore Trail, Umstead State Park, Raleigh. We’ve found the spring wildflower viewing spotty at Umstead, but one place where we’re never disappointed is on the Sycamore Trail at it rises above Sycamore Creek west of the Graylyn Multiuse Trail. Climbing up from the creek, the rocks along the trail harbor a robust community of wildflowers.
• Mountain Trail, Pilot Mountain State Park, Pinnacle. Roughly two-thirds of this 4.3-mile trail at the base of Pilot Mountain is on the mountain’s south or west flank, and much of it passes through mature hardwood forest. To avoid the park’s spring crowds, access this trail from the parking area off Pinnacle Hotel Road and enjoy the show by your lonesome.

So far, we’ve yet to see even a hint of bloom. When we do, we’ll let you know when and where on our Facebook page and Instagram, where we’ll continue to update you with wildflower sightings throughout the spring.

Happy Trails,

Joe

Join us in search of spring wildflowers

GetHiking! Pilot Creek Trail, Pilot Mountain State Park, Saturday, 9 a.m. GetHiking! explores a new trail at Pilot Mountain State Park, one that seems well situated for early spring wildflower blooms. The Pilot Creek Trail starts from an access off Boyd Nelson Road on the north side of the park, heads through lowland woods, then traces the base of Pilot Mountain. Learn more and sign up here.

Follow the spring wildflower show and get other trail news by joining our GetGoingNC Facebook page and following us on Instagram. 

For more on the spring wildflower venues mentioned:

Ayr Mount https://classicalamericanhomes.org/ayr-mount/

Eno River State Park https://www.ncparks.gov/eno-river-state-park 

Umstead State Park https://www.ncparks.gov/william-b-umstead-state-park

Pilot Mountain State Park https://www.ncparks.gov/pilot-mountain-state-park

Learn more

For a more in-depth explanation of what’s happening to make spring wildflowers bloom, check this story, “How Do Flowers Know When to Bloom” from Live Science.

The post Pitchers, Catchers and spring wildflowers appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

New Hope Creek was at its burbling best: the hardwoods nearly leafed out, the air warm but not summer warm, the wildflowers in abundance: spring beauties, bluets, chickweed, violets, periwinkle and a particularly stunning dwarf iris.

My hikers will love this! I thought, thinking ahead to the Sunday GetHiking! trip I was scouting. Then I heard a distinctive hum, with more volume than I was accustomed to. I looked down to see a carpet of bees swarming the trail, darting from this violet to that. I scampered 20 feet down the narrow path, skedaddling before my hairy legs became an annoyance.

Crap! I said to myself. Moments later, I encountered a second swarm, then a third and a fourth.

Before leading a hike, I like to scout the trail, especially one I haven’t hiked in a few months. Usually, I’m looking for downed trees, swollen creeks, anything that might pose a problem. That Thursday, I found a seasonal deterrent: bees.

It’s true, confirmed Rebecca Irwin, associate professor of zoology at N.C. State University, bees are especially active right now.

“They’re just up from hibernating and out collecting pollen and nectar,” Irwin said. “They’re waking up and need food.”

Familiar with the phenomenon of waking up hungry, I asked if they might be particularly aggressive.

“They don’t want to sting you,” assured Irwin, they want nectar, to feed their larva. The only danger is if you get in their way.”

I was glad that I’d elected to give the bees wide berth. An easy decision, considering I’m an EpiPen packer known to swell like the Michelin Man when we tussle. I am not alone.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2 million Americans are allergic to insect stings. Further, states the CDC, bees are the deadliest non-human critters in America, killing about 100 Americans annually. With that many bees on the trail and those odds, and with my own allergy to bees, I was glad I’d scouted the trail: we would hike elsewhere.

Note: This applies only to omnivorous bees. Wasps and hornets are omnivorous and are more motivated to sting for a meal. Avoid at all costs.

If you are allergic to bee stings, let your hike leader or hiking companions know. Carry an antihistamine or an EpiPen, as prescribed by your physician. Don’t hike alone.

If you or someone you’re hiking with gets stung on a hike, WebMd offers the following advice:

• Remove the stinger. Scrape the area with the edge of a credit card or straight edge object to remove it.
• Control swelling. Ice the area as soon as you are able.
• Treat symptoms. For pain, take an over-the-counter painkiller like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. If the person has a known allergy, treat with antihistamine or EpiPen.
• Follow-up. Keep an eye on the bite area for the next 2 to 5 days and keep it clean to prevent infection.

Call 911 if the person has:

• Trouble breathing
• Feelings of faintness or dizziness
• Hives
• A swollen tongue
• A history of severe allergy reaction to insect stings

* * *

More info

• For more information the treatment of stings, visit WebMD’s Insect Sting Allergy Treatment page here.
• Read “CDC: Bees are the Deadliest Non-Human Animals in America” here.
• Learn more about EpiPens and their uses, here.

The post Spring wildflowers, spring bees appeared first on GetGoing NC!.