Red Hat Society May 2007 Outing

Our hostesses this month did a fantastic job of planning the "Perfect Spring Outing." The day dawned warm and bright as our two Red Hat Sisters prepared for the outing. M.R. in the red shirt packed about anything anyone would need.

Her partner in planning, S.S. is in the blue shirt. The girls did a fantastic job of putting together the perfect spring outing.

There was no doubt in my mind that they are responsible for the gorgeous, sunny, warm day with a slight breeze.

We took off in three cars to Tuckahoe State Park. Here we had a lovely picnic lunch. The sandwiches were pre-ordered from Todd's Market in Easton. The Chicken Salad was devine and I had a Liverwust on Pumpernickel. Delicious. Liverwurst is one of those foods that you either hate/love. Our hostesses made lemonade, ice tea and brownies (next time girls remember that I like the corners). A bag of chips rounded out the menu.


We then piled in the cars and drove five minutes to the Adkins Arboretum . In a quote from their brochure "Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve on Maryland’s Eastern Shore dedicated to promoting the appreciation and conservation of the region’s native plants. More than four miles of paths along streams, through meadows and native plant gardens and under the shade of a rich bottomland forest attract nature lovers, gardeners, students and birders."
We had a tour of the wetlands, meadow and forest by our docent naturalist- Michelle (lady on the left without a red hat). She was very knowledgable and was able to answer every question we had!

These sisters are part of the "cane brigade." Several of our sisters walk with canes. But let me tell you that does not stop them one bit from taking a hike in the woods. At Adkins they encourage folks with disabilities to come and enjoy the trails and have a docent that will take you around in the golf cart if you have mobility issues.

We started our walk in the wetlands. This is one of the little creeks that flows into the Tuckahoe River. When we all stopped our sisterly chatter we were able to hear the birds and the faint gurgle of the creek as it flowed over a few rocks. Nice.




The May Apples were in full bloom on the forest floor. These pretty blossoms are hidden under the leave canopy. You have to get down and look under them to find the flowers. The fruit of the May Apple is especially loved by the turtles. I did not know that.


A highlight was the rare Lady Slipper. We found out that large bees crawl inside the flower to pollinate it. There is just one way in and one way out. Bees I think are very clever.

Adkins Arboretum is having a native plant sale that is open to the public on May 12 from 9am to 1pm. This is an excellent chance to buy some plants for the garden that will actually grow in our area.

Finally, it was time to leave and we all agreed that we had a fabulous time.