Returning to the Park (lots of pictures)

Since it was a holiday, I decided it would be fun to go back to the state park and traverse more of the trails there. So, Ebon, my significant other, and I hoped into the car and made our way there. The first time at the park we completely ignored a two mile loop and another mile long stretch. This time, we covered practically all of the trails that are marked out on the park grounds, skipping a couple of sections of the smaller trail loops near the beginning. I thought about having us double back and do them as well, but our light was failing so we opted to head back home after spending three hours there. It was overcast with only a few breaks in the clouds, unlike the completely clear sky we had last time. We only saw two other dogs this time: a liver, white, and tan Australian shepherd and a rather ruddy white German shepherd. I'm trying to be more active, and part of that is taking Ebon out on more long outings. He's definitely not complaining.

There are a lot of wide open views of the marsh.

Ebon happily forging ahead. This is about when I noticed his pack was slipping and we stopped so that I could even it out.

Ebon hopped onto a picnic table for this one.

The observation tower can be seen in the distance. These little wooden walkways litter the park, raising sections of trail above the boggy marsh below.

Another view from the observation tower. This time, with clouds.

There are a lot of beautifully twisted old trees at this park. Though this one looks dead, there is still a lot of green on it.

A section of the embankment I mentioned before. There are numerous historical sights at the park, and this is only one of them. As I mentioned before, the earthen embankment to the left was built during the civil war as a defense. It's still there, and countless trees have grown from it, including the leaning one you see here.

Also, yesterday I went and checked out the wooded area behind my parents' house that I haven't investigated in detail in years. The last time I ventured through it it was still relatively clear and only a little fighting was involved to get through the tighter areas.  Ebon came along off lead, and he was actually very timid about venturing into the overgrown brush. He spooked as the sound of me stepping on a branch more than once.

This area was completely clear eleven years ago, but now it's so thick with saplings that it's a bit of an effort to get through. Ebon had a much easier time since he's much lower to the ground.

Here it's clearer, but the trees have still closed in. There used to be a clear twenty foot wide swath that provided an unobstructed view of the fence in the distance.

Ebon reappearing from the brush. This snarl of plants was once a five foot wide trail that lead into the woods for several hundred feet. Now, it's barely distinguishable from the surrounding forest.

My Backyard

 One thing I love about living in a rural area is the amount of wildlife I can find in my own backyard. Yes, that means that sometimes there is need to be a bit more cautious that in more urban areas, but that doesn't matter to me. It's like a Biologist's heaven. I'm very familiar with some of the recurring animals. For example, we have one fox that is seen on occasion. There used to be a red one which has since been replaced by a cross fox. I suspect the other one died. I call it our "friendly neighborhood fox" even though it will not approach people and will just be seen occasionally dashing across the street from wood to wood or occasionally trotting across a yard. I think it hunts rabbits in the yards, because you see them grazing on the grass all of the time.

Here's some of the animals I've seen around my house:

An absolutely gorgeous web

- Red foxes (in both the red and cross fox phases)
- Whitetail deer
- Owls (exact species unknown)
- Red-shoulder hawk
- Various songbirds (includes cardinals)
- Hummingbirds
- Great egret
- American white ibis
- Crows
- Bats (species unknown)
- Green treefrogs (see below)
- Toads (exact species unknown)
- Green anoles
- Spiders (including wolf spiders and other large spiders)
- Racoons
- Opossums
- Armadillos
- Squirrels
- Moles
- Rabbits
- Lots and lots of insects, including:

• Viceroy butterflies (among others)
• Moths
• Dragonflies of various species
• Click-beetles and other beetles
• Lightning bugs
• Lots of crickets and grasshoppers
• Tons of mosquitoes and sand gnats (it is the south!)
• Ants, including the ever-irritating invasive fire ant
• In the woods nearby I've also seen termites

- Box turtles
- Snakes

• Black racer
• Copperhead
• Eastern ringneck

- Turkey vultures (lots! They nest in the forest behind the house)
- And my dad swears he saw an alligator in a ditch nearby

The pictures in this post were taken last night on my back porch, where I saw at least ten different species (mind you, most were flying insects) and I could hear several more.

The green treefrogs are always sticking to the windows. The cats like to try and play with them through the glass.