Pennyrile Forest Naturalist and Recreation Blog

Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis

Cardinal flower is a summer blooming wildflower that can be seen blooming on moist soils like the banks of Clifty Creek at Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park. Because of the plants bright red flower it is a great hummingbird-attractor. The plant was once used by Native Americans as an ingredient of "love potions." They also used leaf tea for colds, croup, nosebleeds, etc. Today it is thought to be potentially toxic.

On the park look for this plant on the banks of Clifty Creek along the Clifty Creek trail between the bridge and river cane thicket.

Both of these photographs depict Halloween Pennants. This dragonfly flies in the summer despite its name. They can be found near marshes, swamps, and ponds, but are often seen foraging away from water.



Dragonfly Viewing Tips
*Dragonflies are most active in warm sunny weather.
*The photos above were all taken near Pennyrile Lake.
*The best place to view dragonflies at the park is on the boardwalk between the beach and the boat dock, or on the lake trail.
*Try not to let your shadow go before you as this can scare a dragonfly off its perch.
*If you are trying to photograph dragonflies you must be patient. If the dragonfly leaves its perch, don't give up they often come back to the same perch.













Slaty Skimmers can be found all summer long at Pennyrile lake. This species of dragonfly can be seen around still waters in forested areas. Slaty skimmers are often found perching on the highest weed on the edge of the water that is in a patch of sun.

Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park has been offering Geocaching Weekend as a special event since 2005. A variety of caches will be placed on the state park and neighboring state forest. Caches will vary in difficulty of hide and terrain.

Geocaching is a fun sport where people use their GPS units to find hidden treasures. Grab your GPS and join us for this family-friendly event! There will be a night cache, find the most micro caches contest, first-to-find cache, and traditional caches of all difficulty levels. We guarantee at least 30 caches to find.

The registration fee is: $15 per participant; $10 if registered two weeks prior to the event; or $20 per family

Event participants are eligible for a 10% lodging discount.

To download the flyer and registration form click here.
To find the event on geocaching.com click here.

For more information or to register contact Rebecca Clark at rebeccae.clark@ky.gov or 1-800-325-1711.

Matt Snook

Nashville recording artist Matt Snook will be performing live behind the lodge for a special 2 hour performance as part of his Nashville Debut CD tour. Matt performs all over the U.S. and overseas for our troops. You can check out his music at www.mattsnookmusic.com/



Music in the Park featuring Matt Snook
September 4, 2011
Lodge Patio
7-9:00PM
Bring lawn chairs or blanket

Groundhogs of Pennyrile

Many visitors of our park get a chance to see groundhogs, also known as woodchucks during their stay. The groundhog is a member of the order Rodentia, which contains other animals like mice, squirrels, and rats. The reason many visitors are able to see groundhogs at Pennyrile Forest is because the groundhogs are one of the few large mammals that are active during the day. At our park you can often see groundhogs under the birdfeeders around the lodge, eating sunflower seed the birds dropped, or young plants that have just sprouted up.

Groundhog Facts
Nearly 100% of a groundhogs diet is plant matter. Groundhogs build a den in rocky or sandy sloping land that is usually an edge habitat between forest and open land. The den consists of a main entrance, side entrance, and a nest chamber. They often have different dens for the summer and winter. Groundhogs are known for hibernating. They typically hibernate beginning at the end of October and ending in mid February, depending on the weather. Groundhogs are an important animal in our ecosystem because of their role as a builder of homes. Groundhog dens are used by skunks, foxes, weasels, opossums, and rabbits as homes, sometimes even while the groundhog is still using the den.