the Way of the Turtle

1.8 Mile Walk at Five Rivers EEC
Monday, April 4, 2011

Planned to go riding after work today but when I stepped outside it was very windy and really freakin' cold! So I decided to do a little walking instead and headed over to Five Rivers to see if any wildlife was out and about, even though I expected the trails to be pretty wet given all the rain we've had recently.

As always Five Rivers didn't disappoint... I was surprised to see a couple of frogs in the small artificial pool near the headquarters, and there were geese and ducks down on the Heron and Beaver Ponds. I was also surprised when I flushed a heron down on the Beaver Pond - he took off to other parts of the pond several times while I was walking around it, so I never did manage to get a decent picture of him. Two beavers were also out and about, so I spent a while watching them swim around, dive to the bottom to bring up roots, and float on the surface munching away on what they'd brought up.

On my way back to the car I followed the paved road from the Heron Pond up the hill and past the trailhead for the Vlomankill Trail, where I spotted a couple of deer. They seemed basically OK with my being there, but then another walker came down the access road jabbering away on her cell phone and scared them off. I just don't get it - why go for a walk at a beautiful place like Five Rivers if all you're going to do is blabber on the phone?

All in all a nice walk but a chilly one... I'm ready for spring to get here for good!

JMH