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Some Of Nation *s Prettiest
Sights Here In Kings Mountain
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Thunday. Octobw 2, 1980-KINGS MOUNTAIN HERALD-Pog* 1C
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By MARY CROWLEY
Drive along the country roads
near Kings Mountain this time
of the year and you will en
counter ditches and banks
covered with splashes of color,
fence rows blanketed gracefully
with blossoms, and further down
the road you may see an entire
field of color.
Here is nature’s own garden -a
garden unattended by man, one
which grows spontaneously
-growing here is a wild flower
garden.
Look about at the royal heads
of Queen Ann’s lace, some in
bloom and some dried up and
looking like little bird nests.
Notice the tall grasses blooming
so splendidly, and under the
trees, bracken ferns are turning
gold and brown, stately heads of
purple Joe Pye weed tower
above the golden rod, black eyed
Susans and blue chicory. Purple
and lavender morning glories
sparkle with dew in the early
morning light. It is startling to
see the hardy yellow bitterweed
blooming from the cracks in con-
Crete and growing alongside
asphalt roads, seemingly
oblivious to any form of pollu
tion.
y , Autumn is a special time for
hiking. The air is beginning to
^ « feel a bit brisk and the fall color
is rich. Take a walk through the
woods and you will find many
colorful varieties of wild flowers.
Some of these will be in full
bloom, irristible to the butterflies
and bees, some bearing fresh edi
ble food for birds and beasts -and
hungry, weary hikers. Some will
have long since gone to weed
and their seed pods have dried
into interesting and unusual pat
terns. A canopy of leaves from
the hardwood trees shade much
of the ground during the sum
mer, therefore, only a few
flowers will be found this timj^of
the year, wherever the trees
grow thickly together. Look
there in the early spring. Most of
the flowers you will see in the
fall will be found along the road
side on the edges of the imth,
along streamsides, and the
borders of woods - those places
where the sunshine can reach
them. It is not necessary to try to
identify all you see, simply enjoy
being out. Not only will you find
delightment for the moment, but
you will also make a fine
memory to recall some cold
wintery day.
The people of Kings Moun
tain are especially fortunate to
have the trails of the state and
national parks close by. These
trails entice many people from
miles away, and it would be a
shame to overlook them simply
because we happen to live near
by. The trails can hold as much
adventure and enchantment for
the native person as for the
stranger.
The Kings Mountain National
Military Park rangers are predic
ting around the first week of Oc
tober to be the peak time for the
leaves to be in color. The sour-
woods have already turned red.
Our early color season is due to
the dry summer we have had
and because of this extended
dryness the colors are not ex
pected to be as brilliant this year.
But then again, the rangers say,
the weather could change and
we could have a lot more color.
Predicting color is a pretty tricky
business! Nevertheless, you can
find beauty throughout the
season observing the changes as
they occur. Even the leafless
trees of winter have a special
beauty of their own.
Due in part, to the pine bark
beetle, we can look forward to
more colorful fall seasons in the
years ahead. This area has ex
perienced a lot of problems with
the pine bark beetle. It has done
extensive dmage to the pines,
killing a large percentage of
them. Removal of the pine trees
has made room for the hard
woods to grow, therefore, there
will be more trees in the future
to color and later, drop their
leaves.
The logging operation has stir
red up the wildlife, so be
especially aware of the possibili
ty of seeing a copperhead or
timber rattler. Keep in mind all
snakes are not deadly and your
chance of seeing a poisonous one
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is not too great. But, it is wise to
remember that in nature one
must be prepared for the unex
pected. Use common sense and
good judgment whenever you
are out. Consider that most of
the time you have to walk back
the same distance as you hike, so
keep track of the time, the
weather, your water supply and
how tired you are getting. If hik
ing is new to you, make it a rule
to take brief but frequent rests.
This gives you an excellent op
portunity to observe something
more closely. A general rule for
planning your time is to allow
about one third of your time to
reach your destination. Many
times your return trip will be
more strenuous and slow. Your
aim is not an endurance test but
to have a refreshing and en
joyable time. So go ahead, get
out and explore, take a drive or
take a hike, you don’t have to go
far.
And remember, you can find
as much beauty in some of the
most common things as in the
rarest of rare.
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