Warm winter triggers unusual Bernheim blooms
Warm winter triggers unusual Bernheim blooms by Doug Proffitt WHAS11.com Posted on January 6, 2012 at 4:13 PM
Updated today at 8:02 PM Gallery
See all 5 photos » It’s the beginning of winter and the last thing you expect to see just 25 minutes south of Louisville are full blooming trees with bees buzzing all through them.
But on Dec. 30 that’s what my family and I discovered as we hiked Bernheim Forest at the Clermont exit off I-65. The pictures you see are of the Japanese Flowering Apricot, near Nevin Lake at Bernheim. The best part of the blooms: the fragrant smell coming from each and every one of them. We thought it was Spring!
Bernheim director Mark Wourms told me, “No question, we’re in an unusual warm spell. Bees are taking advantage of the warm up; their hives are warmer so they have become active again.” Wourms says the warmer winter has triggered other earlier than normal blooming at Bernheim. He also told me that they aren’t seeing the normal migratory birds, and only a few eagles.
If you’ve never been to Bernheim, you are missing an amazing treat so close to the Jefferson County line. A few minutes south on I-65 and you are there. You can’t miss the signs. Fourteen thousand acres full of well-marked hiking trails, open grass prairies with trails and a brand new visitors center. The cost: Free on weekdays, $5 a car (not person, but one car) on weekends.
