April showers brought May flowers. All the trees have greened out now. The ruby-throated hummingbirds are here. They are beautiful emerald with red throats—jewels that are a thrill to watch. Rose-breasted grosbeaks and indigo buntings are visiting the backyard feeders, now. Spring is indeed here.
A pair of red-shouldered hawks is nesting just up the road. Yesterday, the pair serenaded our family picnic. High above the treetops they were floating and singing loudly, the joy of new parenthood. Turtles are crawling and nesting in the yard and gardens as they always do. Watch out for them on the roads. Frogs, too. After and during the spring showers, the roads load up with these small creatures.
| Get out and enjoy the great outdoors. There are so many places to go. Fairview’s Bowie Nature Park is having a May fest the second weekend in May. There are nice lakes to enjoy with mostly easy hiking there. |
This is a good time of the year to walk on the many trails in our area. Garrison Creek on the Natchez Trace offers a nice four-mile walk. Jack-in-the-pulpit, trillium and at least three different kind of ferns were some favorites on my recent stroll there. Devil’s Backbone a little further west offers cinnamon ferns in the bogs. These three feet tall beauties are well worth the walk down off the ridge and coming back up is good cardio. Take your time. Enjoy the native azaleas that grow wild here on the rim. Locals call these wild honeysuckle because they smell so wonderful.
With all the rains we are having, it’s also a good time to go see the waterfalls. It's always fun to watch the magic of water flowing. Soothing and refreshing, it’s bringing the change of the seasons. Wildflowers now abound along the banks where moisture drips out from the hillsides. We've enjoyed the clucking of yellow-billed cuckoos, flycatchers and when lucky, a Louisiana water thrush.
Recently I was able to visit one of our state natural areas. 
Piney Falls is one of many state-protected natural areas. East of here is the Cumberland Plateau where there are lots of waterfalls. Ozone Falls, Stinking Fork, Virgin Falls, Burgess Falls and Big Bone Cave are all within an easy drive from middle Tennessee.
Highway 68 out of Crossville brings travelers off the mountain into a beautiful valley. Grassy Cove is a small valley or cove that is still undeveloped. Here life for the few families who have lived here for generations is still simple. The Cumberland Trail runs along the northern rim of Grassy Cove. There are fabulous wildflowers along this nine-mile section of the trail and the overlooks are excellent.
Spring always makes me excited about going to Smoky Mountain National Park because of all the great hiking trails. The rivers and waterfalls were running high while I was there. I think about five inches of rain came overnight, allowing for dramatic water flow. The Green River area has a gravel road that runs alongside a wonderful rushing stream. Laced with new green leaves and pure white dogwoods, the scenery is breathtaking. I love to drive very slowly there, enjoying all the little turns and twists in the road that bring new scenery along the way.
A similar road is found over near the Cades Cove area of the Smokies. There's a small gravel road that goes back to the Tremont Institute that follows along a rushing stream pouring out of the mountains. If you drive to the end, a gentle old road bed continues on for easy walking and enjoying more beautiful waterfalls.
| This spring, lush waterfalls and flowering trees like these have been abundant in middle Tennessee. |
Williamson County native Sherlene Spicer shares her travels in remote and nearby areas through her writing and photography.