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| A frozen Henry Creek |
Today was a great day for a late winter walk...
sunny, but below freezing. I visited one of my favorite places,
Beaman Park, in NW Nashville.
5911 Old Hickory Blvd. 37015
sunny, but below freezing. I visited one of my favorite places,
Beaman Park, in NW Nashville.
5911 Old Hickory Blvd. 37015
To get there from I-65 (north of Nashville), take Old Hickory and head west past I-24.
Go a few yards past Eatons Creek Rd and you will see the sign (photo below).
Take a right at the sign and park near the Visitors' Center.
Go a few yards past Eatons Creek Rd and you will see the sign (photo below).
Take a right at the sign and park near the Visitors' Center.
I'd park as close to the Visitors' Center as I could.
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| Take a look inside, and buy something before going home. |
The map, below, was taken from the website Nashville.gov
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| Today, I walked from the Nature Center (top left of map), along Henry Creek, all the way to the Creekside Trailhead (bottom of map) next to Little Marrowbone Creek, and walked back the same way. I did not walk on the Henry Hollow Loop (the trail in white). |
Begin your walk behind the Visitors' Center on the
Sedge Hill Trail. This first trail is a little over a half mile.
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| This is the reason they call this the Sedge Hill Trail. Sedges line the trail just about all the way to the creek. |
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| They don't look like much now but in the Spring they have some neat looking stamen and pistils. Click here to see the Sedges with stamen/pistils in Spring |
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| This marks the beginning of the descent to Henry Creek. |
A slow descent;
Observing all life forms
Along the way.
Robins are so common around here that people tend
not to appreciate their beauty. Next time you see some robins,
stop and just watch them and enjoy their beauty.
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| Photo taken from the Cornell website, below. Information on Robins (plus their songs) |
This is a well-managed trail, always safe and clean.
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| After a good walk downhill you will see the bridge that spans Henry Creek. Today, the creek was almost frozen solid. You can see the Creekside Trail on the other side. |
Henry Creek Bridge;
Slowly walking over
The frozen creek.
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| Looking upstream. |
Anytime you look up on a winter's day you will most likely
see a Turkey Vulture gliding across the sky.
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Photo taken from the Cornell website, below.
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A turkey vulture;
Gliding over our heads
Without one flap.
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| On the other side of the bridge you will see this sign. Turn right to walk the Creekside Trail. (refer back to the map at any time) |
Soon you will see a short side trail that leads to Henry Creek.
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| You can see the bridge that you just crossed, in the background. |
Stay at this spot for awhile and just observe and listen.
If you're a birder, this is a great place to be.
If you see a bird the size of a Robin scratching in the fallen
leaves, then it's probably a Hermit Thrush.
Stop, look, and listen!
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| Photo taken from the Cornell website, below. Information on Hermit Thrushes |
A solitary bird
Scratching the leaves;
A hermit thrush.
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| Looking downstream at the bluffs. The icicles reveal how cold it is, today. |
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| There are evergreen Yule Ferns everywhere. The name comes from the fact that people used to decorate their homes around the winter solstice, using these ferns or making wreaths from the fronds. aka christmas fern Information on Yule Ferns |
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| Looking downstream toward the Creekside Trailhead. |
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| As you can see, moss grows all year long. Pretty hardy plants. Basic Information on Mosses |
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| At the top of each stalk are the spore cases of the moss plants. Mosses don't make flowers and seeds. The male plant makes sperm and the female makes eggs. After the egg gets fertilized the zygote will grow into the stalk/sporecase, called the sporophyte. These sporophytes release spores, which grow into male and female plants. |
Snags (standing dead trees) play a very important role in
forest ecosystems. They are homes to many species of both
vertebrates and invertebrates.
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| A typical snag. |
Today, I saw a little Titmouse . They are one of the birds that you will most likely hear and see on your walks.
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| Photo taken from the Cornell website, below. |
A titmouse sticking
Its head out of a hole;
A cold morning walk.
A neat looking fungus, whose mycelium is slowly decomposing
this fallen limb. Many fungi can be seen during the
frozen days of winter.
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The next thing you'll run across is this smaller bridge,
which spans a small stream that empties into Henry Creek.
I walked up the stream to get this photo.
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| You can see the trail heading off into the background to the left. |
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| I turned around and got this shot of this beautiful waterfall turned into ice. The water was flowing under the ice. |
A little waterfall,
Flowing under its icy
Outer layer.
One of my favorite sounds...
the sound of a little waterfall.
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| What's living here, I wonder? |
If you want to learn about the many species of birds that are found
in this area during the winter, then go to the website, below.
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| You can see the bridge that we just crossed; the stream is on the right, passing under the bridge, and Henry Creek is on the left. |
You might have noticed that some trees tend to hang onto
some of their dead leaves throughout the Winter, until
the new ones appear in spring. One species that does this
is the Beech tree (below).
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| Click here for Information about Beech trees |
Beech trees are very distinctive and can be identified
by three main characteristics:
1. a very smooth bark,
2. the dead, tan, leaves, remain through winter, and
3. the leaf buds look like spears.
by three main characteristics:
1. a very smooth bark,
2. the dead, tan, leaves, remain through winter, and
3. the leaf buds look like spears.
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| Another small (frozen) stream emptying into Henry Creek. |
Another bird that you will always hear when you're walking in
the woods is the Carolina Chickadee. It has a variety of calls that
you can hear by going to this site.
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| Photo taken from the Cornell website, below. For Information and to hear a Chickadee, click here. |
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| Crossvine This vine will produce some beautiful trumpet-like flowers in the summer. Information on Crossvines |
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| Getting very close to the Creekside Trailhead. Sit here, look around and listen. |
Ahead on the left is an area with many red cedar trees.
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| Besides the Beech tree, here is another conspicuous tree easily identified in the Winter, the Red Cedar tree. |
Red cedars are evergreen trees and are known as a
pioneer species. This means that they are the first species to
populate a barren area. With time the deciduous trees grow
above the cedars, shading them out and killing them.
That's why you do not see cedars in a mature forest in TN.
If you do see them, they'd probably be near a creek or at
the edge of the woods where there is plenty of sunlight.
Information on Red Cedars
the edge of the woods where there is plenty of sunlight.
Information on Red Cedars
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| The Trailhead is about 100 yards beyond this point. There is a parking lot there, if you choose to park there next time. From the Nature Center to this trailhead is about 1 mile. (see the map) |
You can take a little break here.
From here you can continue up the hill to the Ridge Trail
and circle back down to the bridge spanning Henry Creek,
or you can just walk back the way you came.
or you can just walk back the way you came.
I turned around at this point and headed back
the way I came, on the Creekside Trail.
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Looking back the way I came. Heading back
to the bridge and up the hill to the Visitors' Center.
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What a great hike! It was cold, but
once you start walking you warm up.
Just make sure you dress appropriately
for walks like these.
Hope you get a chance to visit Beaman Park.
So, get out and explore!!
