A Nature Hike at Coffee State Park

To explore Coffee, we chose as our trail one that started with a mile-long board walk through the swamp. The tannic waters running beneath our feet looked more like tea, than coffee. The park is actually named for a Civil War general, not the beverage.

At this spot, a tree had fallen and caused a smaller one to bow.

Look how it remained curved over, but the branches continued to grow vertically into the sunlight.

This is the flower from the tupelo tree that was fairly abundant there. It smelled as it should: like tupelo honey.

We were excited to see carnivorous pitcher plants by a pond.

Speaking of trapping insects, we were interested in these insect traps that we saw in the park. We were told that they were part of some research.

In  drier areas, the wild blueberries held promise of a summer of abundance .

B pointed out the dolphin head surfacing in this log.

We came upon this big, black beetle that was serving as a lunch buffet for ants. 

A little prothonotary warbler was bug-catching as we watched. They have very loud voices and can more often be heard than seen, despite their brilliant color. They hang out where there is water and I hear them down in the swamp across the street from our house. While they are not really shy, they are active and it can be hard to get a sharp shot of one.

There were several trails at the park,  but I think we had chosen the right one for us. The day was warm, but our walk was fairly cool in the deep shade.