Needless to say, I saw (and photographed) more lizards on this one walk than I have on all the other walks combined. I have so many photos of lizards from the walk, I will be posting at least one, maybe two, more sets of their photos.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Lots of Lizards, Part 1
On my walk Monday, August 29 on the Rio Medina trail at the Medina River Natural Area, the lizards were out in great abundance. There were so many, I was beginning to wonder if I would have photos of anything else that day. I have no idea why there were so many out in the open. I am taking an educated guess there weren't very many, if any, roadrunners or other lizard predators out and about that morning.
Needless to say, I saw (and photographed) more lizards on this one walk than I have on all the other walks combined. I have so many photos of lizards from the walk, I will be posting at least one, maybe two, more sets of their photos.
Needless to say, I saw (and photographed) more lizards on this one walk than I have on all the other walks combined. I have so many photos of lizards from the walk, I will be posting at least one, maybe two, more sets of their photos.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Leon Creek Greenway, Mainland Trailhead, North to Leon Vista Park (And Back)
Today's photos:
I am still recovering from Friday's walk at Friedrich Park. The Leon Creek Greenway trail from the Mainland trailhead north to the Leon Vista Park, other than some ADA level 2 grades (between 5 and 8.3%), was a good walk to work off some of the stiffness remaining from the previous walk. Once again I walked north on the paved trail and returned on the natural surface trail along the creek bed.
Even though it was another day where the temperature topped out at 100 degrees (F), all of creation seemed to be celebrating the onset of autumn. In spite of the heat, a refreshingly cool breeze blew up the creek bed.
The pair of fox squirrels were squirreling away food for the winter as squirrels are known to do. The fawn was with the larger herd of deer, but lingered briefly to check out what I was doing after the rest had headed into the dense brush.
As can be seen in the photos there is still an occasional small pool of water left in the creek from the rain just over a week ago. Birds of many species, not the least of which was a male lesser goldfinch, were quenching their thirst at the water's edge. I have another set of photos of a pair of wrens that I'll be posting at a future date.
I was reminded of the Navajo Beautyway chant:
With beauty before me, I walk.
With beauty behind me, I walk.
With beauty above me, I walk.
With beauty below me, I walk.
With beauty all around me, I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, I walk.
With beauty radiating from within, it is finished.
In beauty it is finished.
Even though it was another day where the temperature topped out at 100 degrees (F), all of creation seemed to be celebrating the onset of autumn. In spite of the heat, a refreshingly cool breeze blew up the creek bed.
The pair of fox squirrels were squirreling away food for the winter as squirrels are known to do. The fawn was with the larger herd of deer, but lingered briefly to check out what I was doing after the rest had headed into the dense brush.
As can be seen in the photos there is still an occasional small pool of water left in the creek from the rain just over a week ago. Birds of many species, not the least of which was a male lesser goldfinch, were quenching their thirst at the water's edge. I have another set of photos of a pair of wrens that I'll be posting at a future date.
I was reminded of the Navajo Beautyway chant:
With beauty before me, I walk.
With beauty behind me, I walk.
With beauty above me, I walk.
With beauty below me, I walk.
With beauty all around me, I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, I walk.
With beauty radiating from within, it is finished.
In beauty it is finished.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Friedrich Wilderness Park, Main Loop > Vista Loop > Fern Del Trails
Today's photos:
I have to confess my goal for today's walk had very little to do with nature photography. Today's walk was all about physical challenge. The Vista and Fern Del trails are two of the physically most challenging trails in all of the San Antonio Parks and Recreation system. The Hilltop trail at Eisenhower Park is the only other one that I have encountered that comes close to the level of difficulty of these two trails. This was the ultimate test of how far my conditioning has come since beginning the walks in May.
I figured if I ended up with a few photos I would be doing good. To negotiate the trails, I had to spend most of my time looking at the ground. If there were any birds in the trees, I would likely never have known it. In spite of having to put so much energy and concentration into safely walking the trail, I still managed to get a set of photos that I feel fairly accurately depicts this section of the park. It has a rugged beauty that is nothing less than majestic. The physical challenge was more than worth it to have experienced the wonder, awe and delight that I did today.
In my post on Monday, September 12 about a Leon Creek Greenway walk, I wrote in the commentary about the people that were on the trail that day and how a simple "Good morning!" from a total stranger is amazingly refreshing. Today I had three encounters that deserve mention. I had brief conversations with two of these individuals who took the time to ask if I was managing the trail okay. One was wearing an orthopedic knee brace and said she walked these trails to strengthen her knee prior to surgery.
The third person, whose name, unfortunately, I cannot remember for the life of me, deserves special mention. She was a real-life angel. I had passed her near the top of the Fern Del trail and we had a very brief conversation at that point. I should mention that in addition to the rugged terrain of today's walk, it was also something just over two miles long. I began to really feel the fatigue when I was still about a half mile from the parking lot and knew I was reaching my limit.
This angel happened to catch up with me while I was still a bit more than a quarter mile from the end of the walk. She stayed with me the rest of the way and we had a very pleasant conversation. Her presence was a true blessing on that final part of the walk, making it easier than it would have otherwise been.
In something of a departure from my blog format, as a personal note, if you are reading this, dear angel, I am truly grateful.
I figured if I ended up with a few photos I would be doing good. To negotiate the trails, I had to spend most of my time looking at the ground. If there were any birds in the trees, I would likely never have known it. In spite of having to put so much energy and concentration into safely walking the trail, I still managed to get a set of photos that I feel fairly accurately depicts this section of the park. It has a rugged beauty that is nothing less than majestic. The physical challenge was more than worth it to have experienced the wonder, awe and delight that I did today.
In my post on Monday, September 12 about a Leon Creek Greenway walk, I wrote in the commentary about the people that were on the trail that day and how a simple "Good morning!" from a total stranger is amazingly refreshing. Today I had three encounters that deserve mention. I had brief conversations with two of these individuals who took the time to ask if I was managing the trail okay. One was wearing an orthopedic knee brace and said she walked these trails to strengthen her knee prior to surgery.
The third person, whose name, unfortunately, I cannot remember for the life of me, deserves special mention. She was a real-life angel. I had passed her near the top of the Fern Del trail and we had a very brief conversation at that point. I should mention that in addition to the rugged terrain of today's walk, it was also something just over two miles long. I began to really feel the fatigue when I was still about a half mile from the parking lot and knew I was reaching my limit.
This angel happened to catch up with me while I was still a bit more than a quarter mile from the end of the walk. She stayed with me the rest of the way and we had a very pleasant conversation. Her presence was a true blessing on that final part of the walk, making it easier than it would have otherwise been.
In something of a departure from my blog format, as a personal note, if you are reading this, dear angel, I am truly grateful.
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