The Wee Ones

A couple of the regular residents of Kennesaw Mountain.

I absolutely love hiking at Kennesaw National Battlefield Park, aka Kennesaw Mountain. There are several trails for all skill levels, and it’s just so scenic. Whenever I am there, I have a hard time not taking my camera, but if I do, a one-hour hike can quickly–or I should say slowly–turn into three. You don't really get the heart rate up when you're constantly stopping for photos; although, the leg squats are quite good.

I hadn’t been since before my Death Valley trip, and I didn’t feel much like taking a strenuous hike. Plus, I had this idea that because of the amount of rain we had recently, there would be lots of mushrooms. I had also heard that if there are mushrooms and if you look really carefully, you may see gnomes.

Norman demonstrating the shelter this mushroom provides.

So I knew this would be more of a photo hike than an exercise hike, and I was so right about the mushrooms. There were so many–this was just what I could see from the trail–and the variety was quite nice.

Norman showing me how something knocked over this mushroom–perhaps a deer.

Besides seeing a couple of deer–I have a love/hate relationship with deer after one ran into my car on a dark country road one morning–I did see gnomes. I spoke with one fella. "What's your name," I asked. He replied, "Norman," and proceeded to tell me he was looking for a new place to build a house. He went on to explain that that's the reason he's always carrying a shovel. He was very nice and volunteered to pose with the mushrooms–for scale, you know.

Norman on a log.

To thank him for all of his help, I brought him home with me where he seems quite happy–he doesn't take up much room–but he keeps begging me to take him for a hike at Kennesaw Mountain.

Update: I went for a hike on December 27 (it's been unseasonably warm–in the 70s–and it's rained for a couple of weeks), and there were no mushrooms, so October must be just the right time for them.

Do you see gnomes and mushrooms on your hikes?
What types of wildlife do you usually see?