March through August in my field notes
What we found as the woods changed.
Nathan and I keep returning to coves, feeder creeks, banks, and forest floors. These are the months we were there—and the life that entered my record.
Six months of looking, so far
The woods unfold.
Most of these observations are from 2026; three July encounters are from 2023. These dates describe what I encountered, not the only months when each organism may appear.
1 observation · 1 taxon · 1 field day
March
A Bucket-List Sighting to Set the Tone
Taxa observedView all 1 taxon
March began with a black bear at Keowee—one unmistakable encounter, and a season opening with movement through the trees rather than flowers at our feet.
6 observations · 6 taxa · 5 field days
April
Early Color and Movement
Taxa observedView all 6 taxa
Plants 4
Animals 2
April stayed close to the ground: Azure Bluet in moss, Mottled Wakerobin and Fire Pink on the woodland floor, with a heron at the water and swallowtails lifting the search into the air.
10 observations · 10 taxa · 7 field days
May
Blooms, Moths, and Forest Signs
Taxa observedView all 10 taxa
Plants 4
Fungi 1
Animals 3
Other Life 2
May gathered Mountain Laurel, Striped Wintergreen, Goat's Rue, moth wings, a bee, a toad, a rosy conk, and tiny slime molds—the woods offering something different each time I lowered my gaze.
19 observations · 18 taxa · 7 field days
June
Color Along the Banks
Taxa observedView all 18 taxa
Plants 11
Fungi 4
Animals 2
Other Life 1
June burned orange above the banks, opened white blossoms beneath the trees, and tucked ghostly stems, moss, fungi, and slime mold into the shade.
77 observations · 64 taxa · 12 field days
July
The Season in Full Color
Taxa observedView all 64 taxa
Plants 28
Fungi 28
Animals 7
Other Life 1
July became a long season of looking: return after return to coves and feeder creeks, where chanterelles, salamanders, ferns, orchids, mosses, lichens, and shoreline flowers kept changing what Nathan and I noticed next.
46 observations · 40 taxa · 1 field day
August
A Fungi-Rich Forest Floor
Taxa observedView all 40 taxa
Plants 8
Fungi 28
Animals 3
Other Life 1
August arrived in one wet, fungi-rich day: boletes, chanterelles, jelly fungi, earthballs, and the first Stalked Puffball-in-Aspic I had ever noticed rising from moss.