Bogging in Angelina National Forest

These photos are from October 2022, though they feel like they are from much more recently — no, now they feel ancient. I started drafting this a year or so ago and never published it, so I’m making an effort to launch some of my older drafts on here. So much has changed since 2022! This is from a bog near Boykin Springs in Angelina National Forest, a really cool area that I’d like to get back out to this spring, between Big Thicket hiking trips.

Ribbed Mock Bishopweed (Ptilimnium costatum) with a green lynx spider and her egg case.

Black swallowtail caterpillar on the ribbed mock bishopweed

Pitcher plant scene

A bored 8 year old (at the time)

Daydreaming but bored

Morrrre pitcher plants

All the pitcher plants

(Revisiting these photos makes me wish it was April already!)

Insects beware!

A brilliant blue tiger beetle, Cicindela sp.

Sundew flower

Through the clearing and around the bend…

to the bog we go!

Sound on for quietly bubbling hillside seep!

Southern bluethread, Burmannia capitata

Umbrella sedge, Fuirena breviseta

Yes, a trip to Angelina is warranted in the next few months. I’m always wishing I lived somewhere near Woodville/Jasper so I would have easier access to the Big Thicket, Angelina, Sabine, and Davy Crockett NFs. It would still be a bit of a drive for some of these areas but at least it would be shorter than coming from the Houston region.

Bonus content for today: Sounds Southern podcast – It’s just ambient outdoor noise recorded by Alice Pierotti in North Mississippi. Can’t get outside but want to hear the caws of crows? Need some ambient rain falling in the forest? This is an incredibly soothing set of audio to listen to! I love listening while I work because it’s something that I don’t have to focus on but can also provide the bit of noise I’m seeking.