Season 2 (Spring) Episode 5 (C.C. Gorge)

On Today’s episode of Adventures with Gary The Wood Sprite: Season 2, (Spring) episode 5 (C.C. Gorge). It’s April 17, 2026. We started at Caesar Creek Gorge State Nature Preserve in Waynesville, OH. From there we took the loop trail. This was my very first time finding a Fire Pink! Yay!

This place is different from Caesar Creek State Park. It is located within the geographical boundaries of Caesar Creek State Park, but it is managed as a separate, more strictly protected area. There are about twice as many nature preserves (140 roughly) as state parks (80 roughly) in Ohio.

They are both under the ODNR umbrella but State Parks are managed by the Division of Parks and Watercraft and State Nature Preserves are managed by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. They’re very different in purpose: Parks = recreation (camping, lakes, trails, cabins) Nature preserves = strict conservation (rare ecosystems, limited disturbance) – hence finding the Fire Pink.

There is a big “no pets” sign at the trailhead. I like the word pet instead of dog because people bring more than just dogs with them (peacocks/pigs/goats/cats, you name it! Wood sprites don’t count. Hah.). Not all nature preserves forbid pets but most do. In S2E5 that nature preserve did allow pets. So, pay attention to trailhead signage

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Here is the most impressive thing about this place. The trail head has a shoe brushing station for plant control! Shoe-brushing stations are rare exceptions, not a common feature. When you walk in you could accidently be bringing in seeds from invasive plants being stuck in the soles of your shoes. Wipe away!

I’m a Wood-sprite and I don’t have shoes but in this particular very special piece of nature, you have to wipe your feet before you come in. For me, it’s a sacred place. It’s kind of like making the sign of the cross when entering a church.

Come to think of it. I think from now on I will do a threshold ritual each time I enter a natural space, like at the start of a trail head. Fairy folk in general are deeply tied to boundaries. We cross into worlds at liminal points (doorways, windows, edges of land). That’s why I like looking into holes to check in with my realm. Protective practices like crossing a threshold grants access or permission and in this case, you need to wipe your feet first because the plants are the most important part of this nature church.

Now, on to the fascinating plants!

Fire Pinks:

See the pic of the red flower?

I heard a rumor from some of my botany friends that this place had Fire Pinks and they were right! When I found them, it was like winning a trophy. Pinks are a group of flowers that have tooth edges on their petals and it looks like they have been pinched by special scissors called pinking shears. They are sawtooth zigzag scissors.

So, the name is confusing because the fire part comes from the fact that it’s red and red looks like fire duh. The pink part comes from the pinking shears. There are other flowers that are also called pinks. The pink family comprises approximately 81 to 90 genera and roughly 2,200 to 2,600 known species of herbaceous flowering plants worldwide. Major members include carnations, dianthus and others. The verb "to pink" existed before the color was named after the flower's hue. There are hundreds of colors in the pink family including white, cream, pale pink, deep rose, magenta, purple, and red.

Mayapples:

I love mayapples! The mayapple flower smell is sweet, heavy and fruity. However, the smell only obvious if you put your nose up to it. If the plant has two heads mean it needs pollination to create "apples.” If properly pollinated it will produce a single egg-shaped, lemon-yellow fruit (the "apple"). For a flower to become a fruit, pollination has to happen. If that doesn’t happen, the flower just withers.

A mayapple must be at least several years old, often up to 12 years, to reach the level of maturity required to bloom (See S1E6 don’t pick the flowers). Eastern box turtles spread seeds because they like to eat the apple. Then the turtle scat helps the seeds disperse and germinate. Yay for poop!

There is moth called the white slantline moth that uses the mayapple flower as a resting spot because it blends perfectly with the flower petals.

Whenever I see mayapples in the woods I think: “ok, time to keep an eye out for ticks” just because its that time of year.

Honeysuckle:

You probably can guess that there are a lot of species of honeysuckle. What I saw today was a Japanese honeysuckle. It’s interesting because as you can see in the picture there are both white and yellow flowers next to each other. Each flower changes color as it ages: newly opened flowers are white then older flowers (a day or two later) turn yellow. So, when you look at the plant, you’re seeing different stages of the same flowers at once. Yellow flowers signal “already visited” or less rewarding blooms.

See the bug picture?

That’s a mayfly. When I saw it, I thought, mosquito? Nope. Mayflies don’t bite or sting. They are a sign of clean water in the area because they can’t live in stagnant water. (Hence the sparkly creek nearby.) They are food for a lot of different types of animals not just fish, but also birds. Fishing lures are made to look like them. They are called mayflies because they emerge from the water in the month of May typically.

Mayflies are the only insects known to molt after they have developed functional wings. Unlike other insects that stop molting once they reach the winged adult stage, mayflies molt a SECOND TIME!!, transitioning from a winged subadult stage (subimago) into a final mature adult stage. Since this one is dull colored its in its first stage. The underwater larva stage can take up to two years to emerge. This mayfly will only live for 24 two 48 hours. It doesn’t have any mouth parts because it doesn’t need to eat because its only job is reproduction.

Other Nature finds:

Wild ginger flower (maroon), honey locust tree. Good ole dandelion. Red oak buds, dwarf larkspur (looks life elf hats), Autum olive, Pawpaw flowers, Ohio Buckey tree, funnel spider web, American Bladdernut tree, another Jack-In-The-Pulpit (see S2E4) another black rat snake (see S2E3 snake etiquette).

There is also an Eagle Scout project bridge built in 1998. An Eagle Scout is the highest rank of a Boy Scout and to get that rank they have to do a special and significant project. This one’s has been there for many years (don’t make me do math) and it still looks good and it’s doing well. I like boy scouts because they learn and teach others how to be good to nature.

When you go into someone’s house, do you take your shoes off? What about in your own house?

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