Fontainebleau Trail

Friday morning dawned blue skied and glorious, so Emma and I headed out to walk the Fontainebleau Trail to hunt wildflowers.  The trail winds through the woods and along the Davis Bayou.  Doug, the volunteer coordinator, had told me that this was the time of year that the wild azaleas bloomed.

What a visual and olfactory treat I was in for!  It was the perfect day to see the azaleas at their peak.

The bushes were just burgeoning with blossoms.  And the fragrance was intoxicating.

As you can probably imagine, I took a ton of photos.  What a fine walk it was!

Azaleas weren’t the only things of interest.  In a quiet pool, I enjoyed the emerging fiddleheads of the ferns. 

 

Of course, there were more than flowers to look at as we made our way down all the trails.

This morning, I picked up Fonda to take her to see the azaleas.  She had never walked this refuge trail.  Even though it had only been two days, many of the blooms had passed their peak.  We did find some bushes in the shade that were still looking good.  It’s amazing how quickly the blooms fade.  The fragrance was even more intense this morning.  My guess is because it was overcast and the humidity was skyrocketing without the slightest hint of a breeze.  You just have to be in the right place at the right time.

Other plants, though, were just beginning their spring flowering.

Looks like I’ll be needing to hike this trail pretty regularly to catch all the beauty each week.  If you’re ever in this area of Mississippi at the end of March, I heartily recommend taking a walk down these trails.  It’s only a couple of miles, but the scenery is memorable. 

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy