Cahaba Lilies in glorious bloom for family and guests

On Saturday, 28 May 2011, Wylie Pierson Johnson (Uncle Wylie, “Paw”) hosted family and friends at his property on the Cahaba River in Bibb Co., AL to view the gloriously beautiful and rare Cahaba Lilies (Hymenocallis coronaria). The lilies were in full bloom, and there were many other lovely wildflowers on display, too! Barbara and Chuck Peterson came all the way from Lawrence Co., AL to enjoy the day with the Johnson Family. Uncle Wylie’s daughter Melanie Fay Johnson (a.k.a. “Lady Melanie” :-)) also enjoyed the picnic and field trip festivities. Chuck and Barbara even brought their kayaks to float the river so that they could get great closeup views of the lilies. Be sure to scroll down below to view the photo slide show and read Barbara’s great story about the day from her blog “Brambly Pines”. Uncle Wylie’s son-in-law James Hill also made some great photos of the wild flowers at “Pawland” just a few days before this event and these were added to the slideshow.

We were invited to go to Birmingham on Sunday and then go with  Lady Melanie and Paw to " Pawland"....on the Cahaba River.   The Cahaba Lilies bloom every spring and this is the only place they grow so it was a real treat to get to see them.   Chuck and I, each were honored with a " Pawland Tee Shirt" before we left for the river ( among other presents).  We took the truck and kayaks so we could get up close and personal with the lilies.  First we had a picnic on the shore and Lady Melanie gave us a " bounce" to put on our hats to keep the bugs away.  As the afternoon went on, the bugs got worse so Lady Melanie and I were using the bounce for " veils"....lol.   There wasn't enough water in the river to kayak so we kept getting stuck on the rocks.  Anyone who wanted to see the lilies up close, could have just waded out to them.  We did go down the river a piece but paid for it because we had to wade back, pulling the kayaks over the rocks and little rapids.  It sure was a work out but worth it to see the beauty of the Cahaba River.  Before we headed back to Birmingham, Paw drove us all around the land to show us the three camp sites and his "bees" and such.  It sure was a wonderful, fun day.  Thank you Paw, for sharing Pawland with us!

 

Photos of the day...

Photos #1 - #8 taken by Barbara Peterson and re-posted from her blog “Brambly Pines” at http://bramblypines.blogspot.com/
Photos #9 - #24 taken by Melanie Fay Johnson and James Hill.

Hover over a photo below to pause the progression of the slide show or navigate by clicking left or right arrow. Go to a photo out of progression by clicking a dot below the photo.