Flat Creek Nature Area

The end of July!  It is hard to believe the end of July is here already!  I had all these ideas of things I wanted to do and places to go and I haven't gotten to do most of them.  Oh well.

 

Yesterday I visited another local spot that I had never been to before – Flat Creek Nature Area.  The wonderful walk is located in the heart of Peachtree City.  It is more of a swamp than a creek, in my opinion.  It is one of those places where you most likely will need some bug repellent – I applied some before I left the house.

 

The walk entrance is located near the entrance for the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater.  In the parking area you will see a building that has "Flat Creek Nature Center" on it – but I have never found this building open or staffed with anyone.  While on the walk my friend and I noticed numbers on the side of the decking.  We kept trying to figure out what they could be for.  Finally after many theories were tossed about, she came up with what I believe to be the winner.  She thinks the numbers mark certain species of trees or plants and some where (maybe in the locked and never staffed nature center) there is a pamphlet that you can use for a self-guided tour of the area. 

 

Down this trail and along the deck walkway it is dark – even on a sunny day.  Most of the time we were out it was overcast.  Occasionally the sun would peek out and give us interesting subjects in a spotlight.  The foliage looked very healthy and a vibrant green.   I took some photos for no other reason than to look up what kind of plant it is in my field guides.  We started out early since it was forecast to become very hot.  About an hour in we found the humidity increasing quickly. 

 

It was disappointing to see trash scattered in the area, not much, but any is an eyesore.  There were some signs marking tree species.  We saw very few creatures while on the trail.  One type of creature seen was fish in the more creek-like areas.  The other creature spotted occasionally, usually too late, were spiders!  I started carrying my camera on the monopod above me to break the web first.  Walking into one is no fun, believe me!

 

I cannot wait for fall and a nice day to return to Flat Creek Nature Area.  Of course, by fall, the spiders will be larger!