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common_natureToday we went hiking. It rained substantially several days ago and was drizzly yesterday, but was sunny today. So I took my camera ...
Plan A was the Warbler Ridge river road, part of the Grand Prairie Friends refuges.
It was flooded. The trailhead is on the far side of said flood.
The field beside the road was flooded too.
Plan B was Warbler Woods North.
This sign marks the trailhead. There's a little parking lot in front of it.
The beginning of the trail is upland forest. I heard a woodpecker calling high overhead, but never managed to spot it.
This dead tree has interesting texture. Snags like this have high wildlife value.
Its roots are rotting away.
This is a wide view of the creek below the switchback.
This waterfall made a charming gurgle.
This one is lower and quieter.
These wildlife tracks are pressed into coarse sand. On the left, those are probably raccoon or squirrel. On the right, they might be deer. This kind of sand doesn't leave great impressions.
This patch is sand and mud with better outlines.
The creek isn't really flooded, but the "bridge" over it consists of two logs. They are resting on sand and mud that are saturated enough to be nearly liquid, thus possibly not as stable as usual. The far end would require jumping to solider ground. We decided not to risk the crossing.
Beyond the bridge was another set of tracks. I'm pretty sure the small ones are raccoon, because they look like tiny hands and feet.
The trail continues past the bridge.
The bank above the creek is mossy.
Here is a closeup of a mossy tree.
Ferns grow on the bank too.
We passed a patch of trillium about to bloom.
Cutleaf toothwort is just beginning to bloom.
After that, we headed to Lake Charleston.
Plan A was the Warbler Ridge river road, part of the Grand Prairie Friends refuges.
It was flooded. The trailhead is on the far side of said flood.
The field beside the road was flooded too.
Plan B was Warbler Woods North.
This sign marks the trailhead. There's a little parking lot in front of it.
The beginning of the trail is upland forest. I heard a woodpecker calling high overhead, but never managed to spot it.
This dead tree has interesting texture. Snags like this have high wildlife value.
Its roots are rotting away.
This is a wide view of the creek below the switchback.
This waterfall made a charming gurgle.
This one is lower and quieter.
These wildlife tracks are pressed into coarse sand. On the left, those are probably raccoon or squirrel. On the right, they might be deer. This kind of sand doesn't leave great impressions.
This patch is sand and mud with better outlines.
The creek isn't really flooded, but the "bridge" over it consists of two logs. They are resting on sand and mud that are saturated enough to be nearly liquid, thus possibly not as stable as usual. The far end would require jumping to solider ground. We decided not to risk the crossing.
Beyond the bridge was another set of tracks. I'm pretty sure the small ones are raccoon, because they look like tiny hands and feet.
The trail continues past the bridge.
The bank above the creek is mossy.
Here is a closeup of a mossy tree.
Ferns grow on the bank too.
We passed a patch of trillium about to bloom.
Cutleaf toothwort is just beginning to bloom.
After that, we headed to Lake Charleston.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 09:43 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2022-04-04 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 11:00 am (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2022-04-04 04:40 pm (UTC)I'm glad you enjoyed it.
>> Now I'll think of the huge, crumbling tree stump in our yard more charitably as a "snag". :)
The bigger, the better. Even small ones have some use, but the taller and wider a snag is, the larger species it can support. If you poke at yours a bit, you'll probably find things like fungi and insects living there, maybe more.
I've written about this before:
* Photography: Windloss
* From Snag to Log
no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 01:16 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2022-04-04 04:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 02:36 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2022-04-04 04:45 pm (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2022-04-04 10:32 pm (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2022-04-05 12:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 03:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 01:36 am (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2022-04-05 01:49 am (UTC)