Somebody turned the heating off overnight, we awoke to a cool 54F (12C) this morning……. what a shock, it climbed back up to the high 70’s though. Today we went back towards Fairhope, about 20 miles NW of here. There is an area could Weeks Bay, which is maintained by the Weeks Bay Reserve Foundation. The first place we stopped at was Weeks Bay Pitcher Plant Bog. This was a wetlands area with about a mile if boardwalk running through it, one of the more prolific plants there was the carnivorous Pitcher Plant, so called because of the “pitcher” that grows up beside the flower that fills with water and drowns insects for the plant to eat!
After our walk around the area, we headed off to find a smocking shop that Lyn had read about, and that we had been to a couple of weeks ago but it was closed. We found the shop, and I settled in to the truck for a long wait. I hadn’t even got comfortable when Lyn returned, looking none to happy. Turns out the shop was nothing like what she was expecting / hoping for and the visit was declared a “complete waste of time”.
After lunch we headed back to another part of Weeks Bay, and another board walk experience. We checked into the reception area and were given a brief overview of the place, then armed with a small book they lent us we hit the boardwalk. At various points along the way trees or plants were identified, and a description of them could be found in the book. It was a great way to learn about the local trees and plants.
The State of Alabama seems to have it’s act together with these refuge areas, they are all well laid out and informative; what’s more entrance and parking are free!