White Lake Natural Resource Area and Gnome Hollow Preserve
by Linda Lang

May 19, 2023

On May 19th four of us met at White Lake, a beautiful, clear and tranquil lake in Warren County with mollusk shells and a limestone bottom giving it a white sand appearance. As it's a small lake we decided to do two trips around, counter clockwise and clockwise. Prior to leaving the shores we spoke with a fisherman who had just caught a 16 inch bass. Since its catch and release he would not be taking his prize home. On our first trip around we saw mostly small bait type fish and some medium in size, not quite the larger version our fisherman. We also glimpsed a large turtle of the snapping type walking along the bottom. We let him be. As we were making our way around the lake we spotted a bald eagle flying across the lake and watched it land in one of the tall cypress trees. Shortly thereafter it was joined by another bald eagle. One eventually took off and returned with it's prize, another possible 14 to 16 inch fish. After taking our leave of these magnificent birds, we found larger fish, some turtles (of the non-snapping type), a number of swallows and red winged blackbirds. For our lunch break we sat at picnic tables that lined the shore.

After lunch it was time to head over to Gnome Hollow Preserve (3.3 miles away). It was a 2 mile hike which based on the name, the length and the little gnome figurines you might think this was child's play. Not so, it consisted of steep climbs and hilly terrain. That said it was very picturesque, with some nice views. We were also surprised by a large vulture taking to the skies. We ended the hike with a walk thru an old Christmas tree farm. All and all a great day with some terrific people.

Linda