See You

Three years after starting in August 2019, The Outcropper is ending its run.  It seems fitting that our final post features Ocmulgee, which this year resumes its live Indigenous Celebration after two years of pandemic reschedulings and cancellations — Ocmulgee is where this blog began.   We will continue to post on Instagram, so please consider looking us up there (theoutcropper).   Final note: all posts and photos on this site may be used by anyone at any time for educational or noncommercial purposes.  Credit to: The Outcropper.   Hope to see you all soon on the trails!

Trade Routes

The land south of what was the Weelahnee River (now the South River) was Muscogee territory, while the land north of the Chattahoochie was Cherokee.  The neutral ground in between rivers was often used for trading between the sister tribes, and since much of the area was dominated by rock outcrop, the tribes incorporated mountain ridges and river shoals into their trade routes.

Smoke on the Water

Plug and Feather

Examples of the plug-and-feather method of quarrying stone can still be seen in a few areas of the AMNHA.  At the point of the desired split, a line of holes about 6″ apart were chiseled parallel to the grain or “rift” of the stone.  Two “feathers,” L-shaped shims, were then inserted in the holes with the flanges pointing outward in the direction of the split.  Last, the steel wedges, or “plugs,” were hammered in gradually and sequentially to produce an even fracture along the scored line. 

New Bridge

The Wilburn Farm Trail has a new bridge at the pond – a Boy Scout project.  Thanks to the BSA!

Cactus Cohorts

Nowhere Land

Goldspinner

Fledgling

One of our vulture twins (see the April 24 post) has fledged but continues to roost at the nest site.

Star Jelly

Nostoc colonies have been around for a long, long time — since the oxygenation of the planet.  As a natural fertilizer and biofuel, they may become an important part of Earth’s future as well.