After a couple of years we finally made it back to this little 6-acre nature preserve, again in the winter. We really must try to get back here in a different season. The property is tucked between houses, a highway and Beebe Cove. Things are very drab this time of year so we took advantage of the new tree identification signs and enjoyed looking more closely at the different kinds of tree bark found in our neck of the woods.
I climbed up on the huge boulder this time and Tim took this picture of me with his cell phone. Last time we came he climbed up and I took the picture. You can see those pictures here.
looking down on the trail leading to a tidal marsh and Beebe Cove
I’ve seen many sassafras saplings over the past couple of years on our walks in the woods. I recognize them from their three differently shaped leaves. I wonder how many full grown trees I’ve walked by, not recognizing them. I was delighted to find myself in a small grove of them here, maybe 20 mature sassafras trees very close to the cove. Note to self: come back in other seasons to see what they look like leafed out in the spring and summer and in fall colors.
On this day it was 36°F/2°C and cloudy with a bit of a north wind. Today it was too cold and wet to go outside, for us anyway, so this morning I did some yoga for the first time in months. It felt so good!
Beebe Cove – we have a small town near us called Beebe, Arkansas. We had a governer a few years ago who’s last name was Beebe. I like the way they have signs on the trees to tell you what type of tree they are.
The Beebes are a big family going way back, they helped settle this area back in the 1600s. Lots of things named after them, including Beebe’s Dairy, where we used to go for ice cream. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Beebes in your area descended from them.
How interesting. Must be a Beebe relative living in Arkansas.
I found this online: “The name Beebe was derived from a place name in Leicestershire called Beeby. The place name is derived from the Old English ‘beo,’ meaning ‘bee,’ and ‘byr,’ or ‘settlement.’ That is, it was ‘the place where they kept bees.'”
Thanks Barbara. That is interesting about the name Beebe.
You’re welcome, Peggy. 🙂
The drab of winter has its own kind of beauty …. left from the bounties of summer for those who take the time to look as yourself.
I try to see it that way, Frank, although it would be nice to get a little snow. Just a little — one must be careful what one wishes for…
Nice range of trees there. I don’t I recollect ever seeing a mature sassafras, just saplings. The bark is very corky. I know a place they grow in the next town, I’ll take a closer look next time I drive by.
Now that I know what the bark looks like I might be recognizing more sassafrases when out walking in the woods. I found this online, “They are colonial by root suckers, often forming circular groves.” I like knowing where a sassafras grove is! It will be interesting to know what you see when you get a closer look at your nearby grove.
Nice of them to put identification on the trees! I’ve found it more challenging to determine which species is which when their leaves aren’t out. And yes, physical movement is key to our health, especially when the winter doldrums set in!
Me, too, and sometimes even when the leaves are out they are so high up in the tree and are difficult to see. Paying attention to tree bark could be a new hobby for me. 🙂 I had forgotten how good doing yoga makes me feel, especially when cabin fever arrives.
I like how the trees are identified by the regular and Latin names and drawing and description. So you are able to learn about them on your treks through the woods. That is a big erratic and great that Tim got a photo of you this time. The weather is chilly but at least walkable here. It is pouring rain here now after a day of fog and rain (again … we had this on Tuesday too) but snow is coming next week, perhaps plowable they say. I hope they are wrong.
We got a few minutes of big soggy snowflakes yesterday, but it’s been rain and more rain this month. Sigh… It just doesn’t feel like winter. At all. But I guess it’s a blessing in disguise since we’re using less electricity to heat the place while energy prices are skyrocketing. It will be fun learning more about the trees.
We had a gorgeous day today and the calm before the storm. We are now projected to get 6-8 inches in this area and my weather radio went off to say it was now a weather “warning” instead of a watch. Energy prices are outrageous and my electrical/gas bill was $150.00 and the water bill for the last quarter was $318.00. I had the water not only dripping, but a small stream, over Christmas weekend due to the Bomb Cyclone, but that was still outrageous. I put the heat to 73 that brutally cold weekend as well. I think it is nice they give you tree info – you get more out of your walk that way.
We have electric heat and our last monthly electric and water bill was over $400, the highest one we’ve ever had. Sigh… Tim said our rates went up 33% from last year. We keep the thermostats in most rooms at 65°F and I heat up the bathroom to 75°F before I take a shower and keep it at 71°F the rest of the time. Brrr…
Oh that’s terrible and here I was complaining about my bills, due in part to that four-day cold spell when I put the heat up and left the water running to keep the pipes from freezing. My $318.00 water bill had just $82.00 for water which I think is terrible. I like that you can heat up individual rooms – that would appeal to me as I’m in the kitchen about 10 hours a day and my bedroom just to sleep. I have it at 71 F all Winter – we are having another very cold spell next week. Between the snow/ice/cold, I hope I get back to the Park sometime soon.
Everybody’s complaining about inflation — and what’s going on with eggs? We were used to paying more for pasture-raised chicken eggs but it seems like factory farm eggs cost just as much now. I never know what to expect when I get to the egg case at the grocery store, sometimes I can’t find my usual brands. I hope you get a break in the weather soon so you can get back to your park. A good walk in the park can lift your spirits for a few days!
The price of everything is out of control and very frustrating; I thought I heard the end of the year that by June 2023, the high price of everything will be behind us. I am hearing the avian flu caused so many chickens to die or be destroyed and this is a slow time for laying eggs is the main culprit. I was hoping to get back to the Park tomorrow morning Barbara, but it is squalling so hard out there right now, they said it will drop another inch or two of snow, so I’ll have to shovel. I will go for sure on Saturday before our next snow Saturday into Sunday. Hopefully they plowed – every so often they plow so we had almost six inches of wet snow yesterday and that won’t be easy to get around in if they didn’t. I’d feel badly only feeding them at the pavilion area and not the rest. I agree with getting out to walk – it clears your head like nothing else.
Love your photo of the view from below the boulder, the tree’s placement in the composition. And, of course, seeing you on top of that boulder too! 🙂
Thank you, Donna! 😊 There weren’t that many photo ops that day so we had to invent a few!