Soggy bottoms

We came through Hurricane Dennis just fine. In addition to weakening considerably, the storm took a more westerly route than expected. Our area was spared all but some heavy rain and gusty winds.

The rain gauge in our yard got knocked over - I believe there was a dog involved. But I don't believe totals reached those of the storm in the spring.

By comparison, Hurricane Ivan last year dropped about 7 inches (18 cm) of rain!

Just before the rain began yesterday, my husband came back from a walk and told me that the Bottlebrush Buckeye was blooming. Since it looked like the bottom was about to fall out, we drove there in the truck to snap a few pictures.


The creek was already muddy from the rain we'd gotten the night before.


Bottlebrush buckeye close-up (Aesculus parviflora).

On the way back, we spotted a couple of small Sassafras trees (Sassafras albidum). There aren't many in the immediate area.


If you've ever bought Gumbo Filé (Filé powder), that's all it is: powdered dried Sassafras leaves.

I also found some Skullcap (Scutellaria sp.).


I need to go back and examine it more closely - I didn't realize there were so many species until I tried to look this one up.