We’ve had some warm rains this week, and the trees have leafed out amazingly quickly. I’d say they are about halfway to full foliage. We’re at the point where the woods and the ridges are showing hundreds of different shades of green, from the light green of the new leaves to the deep greens of the Virginia and white pine.
It’s prime time for spring wildflowers. The foamflower is looking a little spent, but we’ve seen quite a bit of showy orchis, and it looks like the trout lily has just begun to bloom. We saw one little sprig of Dutchman’s breeches. Closer to home, the lady slippers are poking up in the yard and beginning to bloom.
It’s different at different elevations and in different points of the county, but I’d say that about half of the dogwoods are in full bloom, with about another half still on the way. It’s always a guessing game, but I think the next two weekends will be best for the dogwoods. The crab apple is mostly in bloom.
Union County’s new canoe launch just opened. It’s located on the old highway, just a mile or so west of downtown Blairsville, where the bridge crosses the Nottely River. It’s called the Nottely River Headwaters Access, and it connects with Meeks Park. They’ve built a very usable canoe launch, and the whole 6.5 acre facility has been very nicely done. Nottely flows north, just like the Toccoa, so the launch should provide easy access to Lake Nottely.