the Way of the Turtle

7.7 Mile Run at Five Rivers EEC
Friday, May 1, 2009

The hazard of running at Five Rivers is the abundance of wildlife... the first couple of miles I ran this evening were very much stop and go as I kept pausing to watch the wildlife (and take pictures!) I started with a pass through the orchard, where the trees were in full blossom and the bees were buzzing around feeding and pollinating. From there I looped down around the old Beaver Pond, where there was an abundance of distractions - geese and tiny goslings, turtles galore, and muskrats swimming around squeaking away at each other.

The route along the Vloman Kill was a bit less eventful, though I did see a large snapping turtle crawling through the stream and a few frogs further along. Up on the ridge I saw a real treat - a pileated woodpecker. Unfortunately, he only stayed long enough for me to snap one fairly fuzzy photo.

Spotted several deer in the fields as I made my way to and from the Wild Turkey trail, and more geese with goslings down by the sunfish pond. Spent a few minutes watching the little ones crowd together to huddle under mother goose's wing. Also heard a kingfisher but it was getting dark at that point, so all I saw was an occasional flash of blue as he flew off. Had a brief encounter with a rather testy goose defending his nesting mate as I made my past the various small ponds and around along the access road.

After a ways I headed back into the woods... it was still light enough for me to see any hazards on the trail, and in any case they were pretty clear on the way out. I love running at dusk... the air cools, everything gets quieter... except of course for the insects and animals calling. Made another loop around the beaver pond... a few more geese had come in, and the muskrats were still out and about, with just enough light for me to see them swimming.

Ended up back at the parking lot just as it was getting fully dark... it would have been nice to stay out a bit longer, but it was getting late and I hadn't brought my headlamp... and I do have a 15 mile race on Sunday morning...

JMH