Over the last weekend I took a trip out to a part of the Gothe State Forest that is considerably more wet than around my property. Some of the area was out and out wetlands, but much of the area was what is considered pine flatwoods. Pine flatwoods tend to be much wetter than the sandhills, where I live, but they are not totally swampy like the wetlands, either. The pine flatwoods are an interesting area because you will see some wetland species like the Elliott’s aster and some species like the long leafed pines (Pinus palustris) that grow in the drier areas. The flatwoods tend to have a high tree canopy with the pines, and then a much lower level of vegetation on or near the ground without much growing in between.

I had originally planned to be in a much more open area as the sun started going down in hopes of getting a pretty sunset, but as it worked out, I was still in the woods until it was almost dark. While I was walking through the flatwoods and the sun started to dip, the tops of the pines began to take on a really gorgeous golden color that I just couldn’t resist taking some shots of. It might not have been the sunset I was hoping for, but in some respects being in the woods at this time was better than a sunset. And as it turns out, the sunset that evening wasn’t anything special anyway. There weren’t enough clouds in the sky to get some of the best color, so it worked out for the best anyhow!

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