Mountain Camellias Are Going Off at Whites Creek

This one is a few hundred yards from our house. It seems to have some disease that is warping the leaves but the flowers are wonderful. This bloom is several centimeters wider than the 6-8cm called for in the yellow stamen variety and closer to the 12 cm called for in the purple stamen varient. See Stewartia ovata.

We found three in bloom and two smaller plants. We tagged them at the request of our botanist friends who want to try propagating them. We'll see. Here's the Tree Trail link.

Signs of the Season

The Dobson fly is the adult helgramite. The elongated jaws don't pack the punch of the larval jaws but they still aren't much fun as I found out. This male was almost 5 inches long. 

Both of these shots are from yesterday evening. 

Hummingbirds love these trumpet vines and fly right inside the flower to feed.

How To Deal With Invasive Animal Species

This wild boar should be ready sometime tonight.

Update: Damn, that was good!