Saturday, June 7, 2008

A Family Tradition

For the third year, we have made the trek down to SC to visit a rare species of water lily. They are only in bloom during a certain time of year and they are well worth the trip. There are only 50 known colonies of Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies and the one that we saw is considered the largest. It is on the endangered species list. Our photos do not do the scene justice. It is a view to behold. I think that this was one of the best years that we have seen. It is such a fun trip for us. You walk through the woods and emerge to this beautiful site!! There are always lots of people there at this time of year. This year, we found that they had improved the pathways. It wasn't that difficult of a walk, but it is much easier now. Last year, we saw a mother bald eagle feeding her babies in her aerie. That was way cool. We didn't see her this year, but the nest is still there. If anyone nearby was thinking of finding the water lilies, I think that you are too late for this year. We went on the weekend of my birthday and I think that they have probably died off by now.

Here are the beautiful flowers:



Here are the Skibums at water's edge with the lilies behind them:



And this year, the three older ones and I tried something new. We waded to some nearby rocks and got an upclose look at some lilies. I was afraid that I would fall and smash the camera, so we don't have a close-up pic of the flowers. They really smell amazing!!! Kind of like honeysuckle, but better!! They smell nothing like the noxious lilies found in churches at Easter. Curly girl proved to be very adept at climbing over slippery rocks. She didn't slip once and was like a monkey. I, however, was highly dependent on my large stick and had to get down on my hands in a few places. Here we are on the rocks enjoying the view:


Can't wait for next year!!!

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