Cedar Falls Park, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
We are all woodland people. Like trees, we hold a genetic memory of the past because trees are parents to the child deep within us. We feel that shared history come alive every time we step into the forest, where the majesty of nature calls to us in a voice beyond our imaginations. But even in those of us who haven’t encountered trees in months or even years, the connection to the natural world is there, waiting to be remembered.
~ Diana Beresford-Kroeger
(To Speak for the Trees: My Life’s Journey from Ancient Celtic Wisdom to a Healing Vision of the Forest)
At last! A day arrived with low humidity and a chance for a walk in the woods. Though I was tempted to visit the botanical garden I was drawn here to visit a new-to-us park we had discovered some time ago while out running errands in the heat. We found lots of interesting things growing under the trees in this lovely park.
The trees at Cedar Falls Park are typical of an upland forest in the Piedmont, with oak and hickory predominating and here and there a pine tree. Second growth trees with a brushy understory line both sides of the trails near the northern part of the park.
~ This Way to Nature website
(thanks to Debbie for the identification)
They would worry about wearing me out, but I could also see that I was a reminder of all they feared: chance, uncertainty, loss, and the sharp edge of mortality. Those of us with illnesses are the holders of the silent fears of those with good health.
~ Elisabeth Tova Bailey
(The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating)
The march of human progress seemed mainly a matter of getting over that initial shock of being here.
~ Barbara Kingsolver
(Animal Dreams)
Finding the snail moving across the blue mushroom and then the patch of partridge berries simply filled me with delight!
This is a wonderful park for you, Barbara! I’m glad you found it to try out. When I saw the snail on the mushroom I knew that would be a favorite of yours! But I didn’t know about the thrill you would get of the red partridge berry in the moss. My absolute favorite is the blue feather! I would have wanted to collect it, but my guess is that you left it for others to enjoy. What are those little green things that look a bit nibbled next to the lichen?
I can relate to the Bailey quote.
A dandy post today! ❤️
Thank you, TD! ❤️
I had a hunch that Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s quote would resonate with you, too. You might enjoy reading her book, The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating. I found it inspiring and comforting, a big dose of the realities of living with a chronic illness.
We had partridge berry in the woods in Connecticut, but it was kind of rare. Something very appealing to me about the shade of green of the leaves contrasting with the red berries, and the shape of the sweet little leaves. It was such a treat to find it in the wild here. The botanical garden has a tiny patch of it but it’s not in a spot easy to photograph.
Well, actually, the feather came home with me. 😉 And I’m pretty sure those are shagbark hickory nuts.
I just read the prologue sample and I cried the entire time. Although it is written with such poetic beauty, my empathy is overwhelmed. I have been living with chronic pain and assorted diseases; and now learning the realities my congestive heart failure condition and my own decline, I’m afraid this work of art would be too much for my emotions right now. When Bailey wrote the part about her dog on the woodland trails, the scent of the violets… I was balling into tears. And the friend who brings her the violets with the Inconspicuous Snail … her thoughts of what is she going to do with the responsibility of a snail?! (as she is bedridden). OMG 😳
I do like the red and green contrast too. And it was about your connection of home. I adore green holly with red berries at Christmas because we had those bushes at my childhood home.
Ahh, some sort of nuts that might taste bitter, I gather.
Now, I’m very surprised that you collected the blue feather. That gave me a great big smile for today! 🪶💙
Oh dear, I’m very sorry to have suggested something so upsetting for you to read about! It’s interesting how something that one person finds encouraging and deeply inspiring can have the opposite affect on another. People really are like plants, we all need different things to thrive, or even to survive. *hugs* 💙
According to the internet: “shagbark hickory nuts (Carya ovata) are edible and have a sweet, rich, and dense flavor that some say is better than pecans or walnuts. They are sometimes called the ‘black truffle’ of the nut world and taste like a mix of walnut and pecan.” Maybe I’ll try one next time!
There’s no way for you to have known the depths of my health issues or how I would have responded. I have also been dealing with Yorkie being sick with bloody diarrhea for a few days which is exhausting for me to take care of her and me too dealing with vertigo. Today we are both recovering and feeling much better.
Of course I didn’t read the whole story and who knows what I would have discovered reading it. I only read the prologue and had overwhelming empathy for the narrator who was so sick that she was bedridden and I relate to this state of being. Perhaps on a more well day for me, I would have responded differently. I also thought that the snail would be a nice companion for this person in the story.
I like your comparison about plants and people!! I thank you for the hug! I certainly need one after the week I had. ❤️
Oh dear, my heart goes out to both you and Yorkie. It’s no fun when everyone is feeling poorly and just trying to get through each day. But I’m glad to know you’re both recovering. I hope you’ll be up for a little walk by the sea soon.
It was pretty heartwarming to me how the author was able to connect with that little snail. 🐌
What a great new park, it looks like a lovely place for a walk. That red partridge berry is pretty, how big are they?
Partridge berries are about ¼ to ½ inch in diameter. I just found out they are the same as lingonberries, found in Scandinavia!
Wonderful detailed images from your walk. Glad you got a chance to get out and enjoy the break in the weather. It has been very September-ish here this week. Loving it!
Thank you, Eliza! I’m loving it, too! Woke up for the third morning in a row today with temps in the 50s! It won’t last but it has been a delightful break from the unrelenting heat and humidity.
Love everything about this post! Thanks. (for some reason I’m having trouble subscribing to your blog!
Thank you, Jan! I wonder if WordPress is getting buggy again. Sorry it’s giving you trouble. Grrr… I could try subscribing you from my end if you’d like.
I love your first quote from To Speak for the Trees! I hadn’t heard that one before, but it resonates with me. Living on basically a prairie the way I do, I often miss forests, so parks like yours draw me in. I think that’s a sweet gum seedling. That blue mushroom upside down is gorgeous (not terribly fond of snails, but I guess they have their purpose)! How grand that the weather cooled a bit so you could get outdoors and enjoy it!
So glad the quote resonated with you, Debbie! I’ve often wondered what it would be like living on a prairie, as you do, having grown up in the woods. Thanks for identifying the sweet gum! It looks maple-like to me but google id came up with sweet gum and I wasn’t sure if it was to be trusted. The woods are so different down south here. I thought the snail was awfully cute and wondered what it thought about the interesting terrain it found itself crossing. 😉
I’m glad you got out for a walk Barbara and at a new venue as well. Your beautiful and perfect (this late in the season) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was a preview of coming attractions as I would see and read (in your lovely passages) as I scrolled down. I like the selection of mushrooms found under the trees and agree with you about liking the “upside down indigo milk cap with a tiny snail” – a tiny mushroom and a tiny snail and you found both out in the woods. I also liked the vibrant partridge berry. Add this to the list of rotating venues to visit as Fall finally arrives, which, by the tinges of red and yellow might not be too far off after all.
Thank you, Linda! I must have taken 50 pictures of that swallowtail before I got one with its wings out — every time it stopped moving and started drinking the nectar in that bush it would close its wings. Finding that blue mushroom with the tiny snail on it just made my day. I never expected to stumble across something so magical in the woods. I was still excited about the little blue feather when I noticed the mushroom a few yards down the path. Tim was up to a longer trail choice that day so we could have missed both if we had gone on the shorter route. Yes, this walk is definitely in the growing rotation of favorite walks. There’s also a small waterfall there along another one of the paths, which we didn’t take yet.
I do the same thing with butterflies – or they flit away just as you snap the picture. Well you got it to pose perfectly Barbara. By this time of the season, they usually have some parts of their wings missing. The snail on the mushroom was so cute … like part of a faerie garden going on in the woods. I mean to mention the blue feather – that intrigued me too. A magical morning. The waterfall will be nice to visit. I’ll look forward to seeing that walk!
I guess the waterfall will have to wait for the good weather to return. I know what you mean about the butterfly wings. I read that the wings are covered in thousands of tiny scales that overlap like shingles. I’ve seen quite a few wings in pretty rough shape. By the way, google image was no help at all identifying that blue feather!
Yes, probably when you need a light jacket and can enjoy the view without thinking about heat, humidity and bugs. I didn’t know that about the butterfly wings. I always wondered if their velvety look of their wings was similar to a powder and if it would rub off. I follow a blogger who does macro photography and the pictures of his butterflies up close are amazing. Even his spiders and bugs up close or a plant stem with fine hairs is just amazing. Well that’s a shame – I thought a blue jay, but they have the multi-colored feathers which make them so unique.
Sometimes I wish I had a macro lens for my camera for some of the tiny things I find. My zoom lens only goes so close and small and then it balks. But at least I have a camera that gets most of the things I want to photograph.
I really like his photos – it’s amazing what his close-ups reveal. I can do better with my digital compact point-and-shoot with its 12X zoom than with the DSLR in most circumstances. At least I know when I get home, there won’t be surprises like blurry images.
As much as I am mourning the end of summer break, I too have been enjoying less humidity recently. Looks like a lovely walk in the woods, and I love how you share your knowledge of what you see.
It was a lovely week we enjoyed but the humidity is back with a vengeance now. I’m so glad you appreciated this post, Karma. I find having a camera makes me more and more curious about what I’m seeing.