A few Thursdays ago, Greensboro experienced what was potentially the most beautiful weather February in North Carolina has ever seen. I decided it was too nice to be inside, and, 4 o’clock class notwithstanding, set myself up for the afternoon at Lake Brandt.
I drove to the Lake Brandt Marina, a place I had only been once before, over a year ago. Then I walked for several minutes down the Nathaniel Greene Trail until I found a spot a bit off the path by the water. Once I located the appropriate trees, I set up my hammock, got out my book, and stayed there until sunset.
This is a picture I took of the sunset from the Marina as I was leaving.
The last time I visited Lake Brant was late summer going into fall, so going back in early February was a pretty big contrast. I am not a huge fan of winter or cold weather, so I definitely preferred my first visit, even though the weather was so nice. The trees were so bare, and in my opinion green leaves look much nicer with the water of the lake than the empty branches present in February. I’m looking forward to spring when everything will be green and alive again!
I’m hoping more things will be growing in my future visits… there were plenty of trees, but not a lot of plant life to identify. Brief research does not yield very much information on the plant and animal life of Lake Brandt, or the history surrounding it. I did learn that Lake Brandt is one of the two main reservoirs that supply Greensboro’s water, and the lake was originally built in 1925. Lake Brandt is a 816 acre area, and was named after Leon Brandt, Greensboro’s Mayor in the years 1907 and 1908.
In the future I would like to do more research on the history of this area, as well as identifying the plant and animal life. Towards the end of my most recent visit, a person wearing a “staff” t-shirt very politely reminded me that the gates would be closing at 5pm and I would need to move my car if I wanted to stay. I could potentially talk to them or one of their colleagues about the history surrounding the lake and the local wildlife.
The Marina was very quiet when I was there, which makes sense considering it was a random day in February. During the summer there are rentals available including boats and paddleboards, and I’m sure the hiking and biking trails are much more frequented as well. Fishing is another popular activity at Lake Brandt, it would be interesting to learn about the types of fish that are most common in the reservoir. I’m excited to learn about the history, as well as plant and animal life of Lake Brandt, and explore more than just the few minutes I walked down one of the trails. I can’t wait for the weather to get warm so that I’ll actually want to be outside again!
