My Mind's Eye

Remember your Angels are Watching

Friday, March 13, 2020

Hemlock Bluff Part I: Nature and Feline Friday

Thanks Comedy Plus for hosting

Thanks LLB Gang for hosting

Finally on Monday, March 9, my guy took me on a short road trip that we have been
trying to take FUR EVER..the wet weather kept us away.

We traveled 20 miles west to the Town of Cary to visit


There are two metal leaf sculptures like this on either side of the
entrance to the parking lot


Are you asking what makes Hemlock Bluffs so unique..well I'll tell you what I read in the pamphlet:

A system of north-facing bluffs along Swift Creek supports a population of Eastern Hemlocks and other vegetation which are unusual to this area, thriving more than 200 miles from their typical habitat in the Appalachian Mountains.  The origin of this phenomenon can be traced back ~10,000 years to the last glacial period during an era when average temperatures for this region were significantly cooler than those of today.  The usually mountainous plant communities of Hemlock Bluff are believed to be one of these unique relics of ancient past, surviving in this particular location due to the protective nature of the north-facing bluffs which provide a relatively cool, moist environment for these species to survive our typical NC summers.  
  All visitors are encouraged to enjoy this beautiful 140 acre 
preserve helping us to maintain the fragile landscape by remaining on the trails rather than disturbing the flora and fauna that call Hemlock Bluff home.



Today I'll start sharing some of the beautiful (108) photos I took...and continue to do so on
Nature Fridays, Awww Monday or Happy Tuesday Trail.
Here a few photos I took inside the visitor center.
Note: wildlife cameras have documented that these animals live throughout Hemlock Bluffs
Thankfully we did not see any especially coyote



 Hemlock Bluff is also the home of the largest populations and diversities of salamanders in the state, outside of the NC Mountains.



TO BE CONTINUED next week....

Grandkitties...




27 comments:

  1. We've got coyotes in our neighborhood - momma's seen em in neighbor's yards.

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  2. this is a beautiful place ... grinned as I saw the salamander, because of as dark as in the a... of a slamander lOL

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  3. Hari OM
    My word, what a wonderful place!!! Thank you 87x over, BCat for taking HiC and her camera so that she can share it with us all &*>

    ...108 photos? In Hinduism, 108 is THE sacred number and our meditation malas have 108 beads; mantras are repeated 108 times; if looking for an auspicious outcome to anything, then the number 108 is the optimum to be included in some way. That makes your walk of 'quiet observation' so much more powerful!!! YAM xx

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  4. Your nature preserve looks so pretty and we love the leaf sculpture! We wouldn't want to run into coyotes either.

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  5. It looks like a quiet lovely place. A place to lose yourself in the beauty of nature. I look forward to your other photos.

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  6. Happy Friday the 13th to you too!

    I hope y'all have a fantastic weekend.

    Our dance got cancelled. Boo Hoo. Stoopid ol virus.
    Love the park. That's interesting about the Hemlocks

    Take care,

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  7. That looks like a lovely peaceful place to visit.

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  8. Cool sculpture!! Happy Friday the 13th.

    The Florida Furkids

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  9. hi on this Friday the 13th, what a beautiful place to visit. I am smiling because we have all of these animals in our yard and on our dog walks except the white tail deer. we have lizards but not pretty ones like this one. glad you could get out doors and will have lots of beauty to show use each Friday...

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  10. I'll bet that was such a pretty place to see! Those Grandcats are sure pretty!

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  11. Love the kitties. Aw.

    I love Friday the 13th.

    Thank you for joining the Feline Friday Blog Hop.

    Have a purrfect Feline Friday and weekend. Big hug, honey. ♥

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  12. That place kind of reminds us of Cook Forest in PA.

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  13. frisco N mia....wavez two ewe N heerz two a grate week oh end

    C; looking forward to reading your posts about this park....it's awesome with a capital Z as da tabbies say :) ♥♥

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  14. Love the pictures of the park. Looks like a great place to visit. The Grands are looking good too. Have a nice day.

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  15. What an interesting place. A plant-fossil place--hemlocks so far from 'home'.

    In 1994 the Wollemi pine was found here--an ancient pine in a secluded place in the Blue Mountains. The location has never been divulged, however, seedlings have been grown for people who would like to grow one so they don't wreck the place. Luckily, the Dinosaur Trees as they are known were saved during the recent bushfires.

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  16. Very nice sculpture. How nice of your guy to take you to such a special place! And it looks like you had a beautiful day too - look at those skies.

    Woos, Lightning and Timber

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  17. Oh, Ma is IN LOVES with those leaf sculptures!! Beautifuls! What a FABulous place to visit! I bets it is THE place to be in the heat of summer! It's like the Redwood forests here ~ at least 10 degrees cooler in there than out of the forest!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  18. WOW! So much beauty, I really like hemlocks...and salamanders are always a fun sight! Arty and I took a ride out to enjoy our local trees today before the rain starts back up this evening.

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  19. Those are cool sculptures. Your grandkitties are adorable. XO

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  20. That looks like a great place to visit. We can't wait to learn more about it.

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  21. Hemlock looks very pretty. Hi, grandkittehs!

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  22. What a special place. I love the spotted salamander!!!!!

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  23. Fascinating place to visit! And the profile photo of the two cats is purrfect!

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  24. That looks like a place I'd LOVE to go exploring!
    KZK

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  25. It was so interesting to learn about Hemlock Bluff. And coyotes seem to be everywhere around here. They've been sited in our surrounding neighborhoods, and I'm always on the lookout when I take the pups out in the dark.

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  26. Interesting brochure & SWEET grand kitties.

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Life is short, spend it with those who make you laugh
“Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.” (Leo F. Buscaglia)
TONS OF HUGS
Cecilia and Angel Madi
Email: candb214@att.net