First Signs of Spring

Sunday was my last hike along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in the Triangle.  We parked at the Pleasant Green access to Eno River State Park and hiked to Pump Station and back.  To mix things up a bit, we went right at the splits at Eno Quarry Trail, Cabe Lands Trail, and Pump Station Trail and then took Mountains-to-Sea Trail the whole way back.  Although it's still February, we saw some of the first signs of spring - trout lilies.

There were nice patches of them blooming all along the trail.

Another early spring flower was blooming as well - daffodils.  These ornamental flowers are not natural, but a patch of them indicates a former homestead.

The bulbs come back year after year for decades.  There was a nice patch of them next to an old tobacco barn.

Pat spotted two buildings that I had never noticed before.  The roofs on them appear new, so maybe something for park operations.

Our turnaround spot was the old Durham Pump Station, which had a huge number of trout lilies blooming.

We had a snack here, before heading back.  It rained just a little on the way back, not enough to get wet but kind of refreshing.