Little River Canyon and Murphy Hill - October 24, 2020

 The forecast included a chance of rain showers and clouds, the type of day most people stay home.  But with a new lens to try out, I wanted to capture fog in the mountains in the early morning light and so it was forecast to be the perfect day for just that.  We set the alarm early with the goal to be in the canyon right around sunrise.

Many may be surprised to know that Alabama is home to its own canyon.  The Appalachian mountains reach into the northern part of this state.  Little River Canyon National Preserve is probably one of the most special places in Alabama that we have visited and a place we keep coming back to.  This was our first visit during the fall.  And although I went looking for fog and did find some, I was taken aback by the beauty of the fall colors.  I was not expecting the colors to be this far along.

Our first stop was Little River Falls Overlook.  Hwy 176 (Little River Canyon Rim Parkway) is an incredibly scenic drive along the top of the canyon with many overlooks to get some incredible views.  Coming from the north, the Little River Falls Overlook is the first you will encounter and gives views of Little River Falls.

We then continued on to Lynn Overlook for more views of the canyon and to hopefully find some fog.

We continued south on Hwy 176 until we reached Mushroom Rock.  We had yet to see any cars travel down this highway all morning so had ample chances to get just the right shots.

Normally we would have continued south to more overlooks and to enjoy more of the canyon but we had plans for another trail near Lake Guntersville and wanted to spend some time at Little River Falls itself before heading that way.  So we backtracked to the Little River Falls parking area off Hwy 35.

We then headed towards Lake Guntersville to hike a 4.4 mile loop at Murphy Hill near Langston, AL.  This was our second visit to this trail.  Last time was during the heat and humidity of the summer and we had made quite a few other stops that day and so that time we didn't make the whole loop and turned around before we got half way done.  This time the weather was in the upper 60s which makes a world of a difference when hiking.  It is a very quiet trail, clearly a well kept secret because it is a great trail that is quite flat and really beautiful with forests, marshes, and even a few views of Lake Guntersville.  In the two visits, we have only seen one other person hiking.  

A great blue heron flying away

A juvenile red-headed woodpecker

The juvenile red-headed woodpecker again - you can see the red of his head just starting to come in.

I wish I had my macro lens to get a better photo of this spider.

Eastern Phoebe

This is where it started to sprinkle and so Paul was anxious to get back under the cover of trees.

We didn't let this down tree stop us from seeing the end of the peninsula with views of Lake Guntersville.

It's mushroom season in Alabama and these little ones were all over the forest floor.

Shortly after the mushrooms, the rain sprinkle became more of a steady rain and so the camera had to be put away.  Fortunately the last 1.5 of the trail is not nearly as scenic so we didn't feel like we were missing much by picking up the pace.  Even despite the rain, it was a hike that was well worth it and overall an amazing morning but it was time to head home.

Huntsville, AL - October 6, 2020

 We are now more than 6 months into the monotony of teleworking from home and decided we needed a mid-week break from work and a chance to take advantage of the gorgeous beginning of fall weather.  So we headed north to Huntsville.  We had the first timed tickets of the day for the Huntsville Botanical Garden and arrived just before 9:00 a.m. and they were already letting guests in.  The day was sunny and started out cool but warmed up quickly.

 

The sprinklers were still running in a few places, leaving many of the flowers covered with the most beautiful water droplets.

We headed straight for the butterfly garden wanting to get there before it got crowded.  Earlier in the season, this open air butterfly house is just filled with butterflies and I wasn't sure whether there would be any still there this late in the year but we still found a few.  Plus, it is always fun to see the turtles and beautifully planted garden.

This photo is courtesy of my very patient husband who followed me around while I took close to 1,300 photos this day.  :). I'm including a few photos he took of me in this blog.

This Monarch Butterfly didn't seem to mind my presence.

After leaving the butterfly house, we took our time wandering the garden.

I have never seen so many robins as we saw at the gardens.  They must be migrating.

Outside the herb garden was this bed of pink flowers that clearly had the attention of the butterflies.  I had to be patient and wait for the butterflies to come back after I disturbed them but was able to manage a few great shots.

I believe this is a skipper of some sort, maybe a long-tailed skipper

A Gulf Fritillary tries to disguise itself in the greens and flowers

I believe this small yellow butterfly is a Cloudless Sulpher.

I believe this is a Clouded Skipper

Before we moved on to the next part of the garden, my husband pointed out this shaded corner where the plants (and even a large spider web) were completely covered in water droplets still.

Not much was still blooming in the lily garden.

We then took a walk through a small wooded area that was guarded by these busy bees.

We also encountered quite a neat looking spider which appears to be a female yellow spiny backed orbweaver.  It was a bit off the path so I could only get so close.

This wooded path was also home to a number of birds.  These first three photos are of a female summer tanager.  The male summer tanager is bright red, making them a striking pair if you can ever see the together.  Summer tanagers spend their summers with us and so this one will likely be migrating south soon.

This is a Blackburian Warbler, which is just passing through as it migrates south.  They spend their summers in Canada and then migrate south all the way to Andes Mountains in South America.

This fun looking covered boardwalk ended our walk through the woods.

Just before we came to the aquatic garden, there is this really neat small garden kind of on a hill.  Last time we visited in May of 2019, I remember sitting on bench in the shade here gazing at a field of coneflowers.  Not many of the cone flowers were still in bloom but this small purple flower that always seems to attract the large fuzzy bumble bees still had blossoms left.

Some photos from the aquatic garden.

Just past the aquatic garden was a patch of zinnias and other butterfly loving flowers.  

A Gulf Fritillary butterfly

I believe this is a skipper of some sort.

Such a cool looking spider - a green lynx spider

Another skipper of some sort, I believe

By the time we were leaving the aquatic garden, it was starting to get busy.  So I took some last photos of the mums which were covered in bees.

After the gardens, we decided to stop at a Sonic for lunch, which was a new experience for us. 

The afternoon was spent bird watching at the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge and along the Tennessee River.  We brought along our chairs so we could just enjoy the sights and sounds and beautiful weather in the shade of the trees.  We have two favorite spots and we spent time at both spots.  The first one is a fishing pier on the Tennessee River across the street from the Wheeler NWR Visitor's Center.  We always find egrets and herons here and keep hoping some day we will see an alligator.  I apologize in advance for the number of great egret and great blue heron photos that will follow.  These are two of my favorite birds and I got so many amazing shots it was hard to narrow them down.  

Great Egret

Great Egret taking in the start of fall colors

American White Pelicans - some of the first to migrate here for the winter

Great Egret in flight

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret in flight

The second spot is right between the Wheeler NWR where they have set up lots of feeders just outside the tree line of a forest that lines the area along the marsh.  This area did not have as much bird activity but was still so peaceful to just enjoy.

American Goldfinch

Two Blue Jays as spectators of two Mockingbirds in the wrestling ring

Two Blue Jays

Carolina Chickadee (cousin to the Black Capped Chickadee found in WI)

American Goldfinch

By this time it was late afternoon and with all the fresh air we were ready to head home.  It couldn't have been a more beautiful day.  The temperatures started in the upper 50s/low 60s and ended the day with low humidity and temperatures around 80.