Very fresh Chicken of the Woods
There must be a decaying log or stump below. Laetiporus cincinnatus is the whiter version of this fungus. It often is seen as if it is growing out of the soil although there should be some rotting wood beneath that supports it.
We know it as Rose pink. It's Latin name Sabatia angulais is named for Liberato Sabbati. an 18th century surgeon turned botanist. He was the curator of Rome's botanical garden. He traveled to collect plants for the garden and later produced a catalog of those plants, published in 1745.
We have had some rain recently. This photo taken on Pine Path of a wet spot is in an area that was recently burned. I think the burn removed the leaf litter and now the rain doesn't get sopped up by the leaves. It just runs freely until the leaf litter is replaced in the fall. We'll see if my assessment stands up.
Right by the parking area is a stand of pines which PLC is actively managing. I am told by a local historian who grew up roaming this area that the pine area was known as the red spot. Ed Rich told me about the red spot. During the 1950’s when Ed was exploring the area as a youngster, he described an area where nothing grew. He says that it had always been like that as far as he knew. The area is described as the area of pines near the Lanier entrance gate, going back to the “berm”. In the 1950s, motorcycle races were held on the Red Spot. I had initially thought the spot was the triangular field between the two Lanier entrance roads that looks red from aerial photos. Ed says that is where Don Lanier dug a huge hole and buried stumps that were removed from the road he built to the upper field.
Why would I picture this scrawny plant? It is so easy to overlook. In the fall a leaf appears. The leaf is green on top and vibrant purple on the bottom. I like to point that out while hiking. You'd never know that this is the same plant as the green/purple leaf plant. The leaf disappears in the spring to make way for the blooms, tiny orchids that are often overlooked.
Caraway Creek Preserve has quite a few. See if you can spot one next time you are in the woods.
The creek just got hit with a slug of rain. These downed trees collected the foam from the creek.
The historic check dam is still functioning as it was supposed to.
Who built this thing and when did they build it? Well, that is still a bit of a puzzle.
Lets start with a Randolph County land deed dated March 3 1819 which included an indenture involving a land deed and water rights for a dam.
When the city of Asheboro needed additional water sources, Caraway Creek was considered. An acheological survey conducted by Peter Cooper II in 1976 states the dam was built by the grandfather of Moody Dugan about 140 years ago. That would be about 1836. I suspect that Peter Cooper asked around when he was surveying the area and got this information form a local, maybe Moody Dugan. We don't know where the information came from or if it was accurate.
Local historian Ed Rich says Marsh Miller and Jesse Henley built dams in the Caraway area. They were born about 10 years apart in the 1830's and 1840's. So, if they built the dam, it would have been 1860's or later.
Vikki Paris, a former land owner of the dam, says she and her husband Joey located an 1892 inscription scratched into the dam.
Finally a 1912 Randolph County deed gives permission from the Walker family members (the owners) to the Kearns access to the property for purposes of building a dam.
I'm betting that a dam was built at the site at some time in the 1800's. At some point it was damaged and rebuilt, maybe more than once.
