Late Fall at Temple Flat Rock

It was a beautiful clear day when we visited.  The sunlight lit up the fluffy seed heads and dry grasses in the field. 

We visited the new native plants — planted thanks to Raleigh Charter High School.  They look healthy and settled, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed!

The granite rock faces were surprisingly green with moss and lichen.  The fruits of the prickly pear cacti were ripe and red, although frequently hidden under pine straw.  As an Arizona native, I love seeing the cacti, but the pine straw was a bit strange.

The kids spotted a huge pile of trash that we’d never noticed before.  Hidden in the brush that is normally green, the debris looked as if it had been lying there for many many years.  We bagged up a big chunk of it, and plan to carry out the rest over the next couple visits.  We were all surprised and pleased by the plants growing inside the bottles; I’m not the only one with a green bottle terrarium now on my window ledge.  It’s prettier on my window than in a junk pile.

We saw many animals signs both natural and drawn by the hunters who share the property during hunting season.

Many plants also were wide awake and we wondered what would still be green by the end of the winter.

Our last view of Temple Flat Rock was the plot of little yellow flags marking the new plants. 

Group visit done by: Flora and Oliver Walters-Clift, Nancy Walters, Mia Phan and Marissa Daigle Garneau, Ellen and Jack Harrison, Eli, Izaak and Dana Gruin, Erin, Kia and Nico Salmon, Meg, Shawn, Abby, Gage and Cole Brown.