Hiking at Lake Wilson

Early this evening, Christy and I went for a walk at Lake Wilson, right on the southwestern outskirts of Fayetteville. We were wondering if we'd see any wildflowers blooming, even though it's been cold the past few days. We got on the trail with about an hour of light left. Part way down the trail, a barred owl called, as always, asking about dinner. As the trail dropped into one of the drainages that feeds the lake, Christy spotted the first flower. Sure enough, we discovered white trout lilies beginning to bloom! The plant has a single, white, flower drooping head down on its stalk, and the entire plant is not more than 3-4 inches tall. It is named for the pinkish/purplish speckles on the green leaves that to some folks resemble the belly of a trout. All the way along the trail to the creek, we continued to spot them.

A little farther down the trail, we spotted Ring-necked ducks and a couple of Gadwall ducks on the water, and we were able to get really good looks at them through our binoculars. Soon it was getting dark, and we headed back to the truck. As we passed a marshy area, a few southern leopard frogs serenaded us with their laughing/quacking calls (well...actually, it was the male frogs requesting amorous interludes from the females, but who is to say they weren't also serenading us?). We listened to the frogs for a while and could occasionally hear two Great Horned owls calling softly to each other over the ridge. By the time we got back to the truck, it was close to dark, almost completely quiet, and the lake was as smooth as glass.

A view of Lake Wilson, looking south.

One of the white trout lilies we discovered blooming along the trail.

A poor picture of the Ring-necked ducks taken through the binoculars. The ducks are those little white things on the water.

The two of us, enjoying our own amorous affections.