Who, us?
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman, 6 Jan 2009, Lowndes County, Georgia.
What kind of owl is this?
We know it’s the kind that the dogs barked at all night:
Tag Archives: Georgia
Swamp Ice
Yes, it’s cold! Our middle swamp froze over:
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 Jan 2010.
Mud!
Mud, mud,
Glorious mud! Continue reading
Orange Mushroom
UFO landing strip:
Coming in for a landing: Continue reading
Lily moss
Lily pad with moss.
Lowndes County, Georgia, 13 Dec 2009, pictures by Gretchen Quarterman.
Mistletoe
You know it’s Yule season when you see the mistletoe.
Actually, it’s evergreen, so you can see it all year if you want to; we just go looking for it around the winter solstice.
Phoradendron leucarpum (aka Phoradendron serotinum) is the common American mistletoe, one of 1300 species of mistletoe worldwide. It’s poisonous, and like many poisonous plants, had traditional medicinal uses. Nowadays it’s mainly noted as a forestry pest because it’s a parasite that takes resources from its host tree, although it is being studied for various pharmacological uses.
And a certain well-known friendly use.
It ranges from New Mexico to New York by way of Florida. And Georgia.
Curiously, the USDA Plants Profile shows none in Lowndes County, Georgia.
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman, 13 Dec 2009, Lowndes County, Georgia.
White mushroom with dewdrops
Looming in the woods:
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia.
5 Inch Mushroom
Don’t trip over it:
Pictures by Gretchen Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 6 Dec 2009.
Carrots
Fresh picked:
Picture by Gretchen Quarterman, 1 Dec 2009, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Thoroughfare Plan for Lowndes County
The County Commission is scheduled to vote on a revised Thoroughfare Plan for Lowndes County today at 5PM at 325 West Savannah Avenue, Valdosta, GA. Details are here. The plan as submitted to Commissioners Friday appears to be an early working draft not ready for prime time, including as it does uses of terms that are not defined and quite a few internal inconsistencies, as well as conflicts with the
Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Commissioners may decide to defer approval until the plan is in better shape.
As an example of things in the plan that could use fixing, it proposes to reclassify Quarterman Road from local to minor collector on the basis that within 20 years it might have enough traffic “if it were developed”, despite the Greater Lowndes 2030 Comprehensive Plan showing the same neighborhood as agricultural through 2030. Many other roads are proposed to be reclassified by the new Thoroughfare Plan even though they do not meet the criteria set forth in the same plan itself. The plan might benefit from some additional process or procedural input and review. Fortunately, the Chairman and the County Manager appear to be soliciting input. More details here.