Sunny Halloween

Mostly sunny but windy and cold today as I set out. Saw one Doe off the left side of the first wood chip trail but I couldn't get a decent photo. She was in thick foliage and eating everything green in sight just like the last Doe I'd seen. Somewhere on the southwest side I came upon these cool, orange Mushrooms that seemed like they were coated in a clear, sticky, snail-like slime. The big trees have pretty much dropped their brightly colored leaves already and only small seedlings like this Maple have any color to them. Back on the south side near the water I came across some more orange but considerably less slime-coated mushrooms. These allowed for a better shot from underneath.

Autumn Fall

Really feeling like Autumn now as most of the leaves are finally falling and the rain has let up -momentarily anyway. Unusually wet weather and cold temps made for a strange and short season this year and the best scenery is already on the ground. The temp this morning made for an interesting photo of still-green plants poking up through just barely frozen water. On the south side I got some photos of different looking birds with white bills that I've been seeing on the water for the past few weeks. Our Birds of Minnesota book confirmed that they are American Coots making one more species I can add to my list of "Wildlife seen in the park." The book says that they're not considered a duck as they have lobed toes versus webbed feet. Just before returning to the parking lot I noticed the very same "glossy leaved" Oak tree I photographed last week had turned a bright gold. I tried to remember the same exact location of last week's photo and it turned out close enough to put the two together.The top is from October 24th and the bottom from October 17th. Quite a drastic change in 7 days huh?

Critters everywhere

Everything I expected to see yesterday -and way more- were out today. It was one of those fantastic walks that happen only 2-3 times a year where I can start to lose track of everything I saw. To start I actually saw a Mallard chasing a Garden Snake. Or maybe it was the other way around. Regardless, the commotion caught my eye and I snapped this pic right after the duck headed back into the creek. Afterward I saw a flash of color way off in the woods and I stopped quickly when I realized it was a male Pheasant. Only the 2nd or 3rd time I've seen one here and they're darn hard to get a photo of. He was far enough away as to not be spooked and after I stood there long enough I noticed another then another then another. As I stood there snapping pictures I heard a rustling to my right and noticed another male only 10 feet from me. Though he was scurrying through the underbrush, this photo turned out better than the others 50 feet off in the woods. Later I came upon 2 more small snakes on the trail. I wonder if they don't have babies sometime in the fall. Upon rounding the north side I noticed some movement off the right side of the trail and thought there were yet more Pheasants. In fact there were 5 wild Turkeys. I snapped one crummy photo before they were gone. Since there's a trail into the woods in close proximity I decided to see if I could get ahead of them for some better pics. But as I darted into the woods, deer jumped up everywhere catching me by surprise. They didn't run far and soon I forgot about the turkeys as the group of deer milled about cautiously. I quickly picked a seat on a fallen tree and as sure as they've done in the past, the whole group eventually walked up very close to me. I snapped a ton of pics though the thick woods got in the way much of the time. All four or five looked to be Does and two of the smaller ones could very well have been the fawns I encountered earlier in the year. Later, as I was thinking about my missed photo opportunity with the Turkey's I was just crossing the ball fields and noticed these huge tracks. I laughed as the entire field was covered in them and wondered just how many Turkeys had created them. They must have been out there in the rain as even my footprints weren't making that much of an impression.

Beautiful October Saturday

After two weeks of crummy weather, it's finally nice again. Though after all the rain -and even our first snow on the 11th- the water levels in the park are as high as they were back in March. Just seeing the sun again was spectacular. I'd expected to see lots of wildlife today but on the contrary there wasn't really any to see. Sometimes that's a good thing though as it forces me to seek out other interesting scenes that I would otherwise pass right by. This lone red tree qualified as did this super-glossy leaved Oak tree.

Monday downpour

Had the day off from work today so was definitely planning a walk. I didn't plan on getting drenched though so I put my new rain gear to good use as it pretty much rained all day. It made for a pretty boring walk as there was just nothin' goin' on but a steady downpour. The one interesting thing was at the bridge over Shingle Creek on the north side. It's hard to tell from the photo but there were at least 100 or more Carp just underneath the surface of the water. I knew there were some Carp in the creek but I had no idea just how many as I've previously only seen 10 to 15 in a group. They were litteraly everywhere you looked. It must have something to do with the rain I guess. Maybe they were coming up towards the surface for cleaner water? This last photo is special in two ways. It is my favorite part of the park -where the main bodies of water meet- and it also marks the 100th photo I've posted on this Blog!

If you don't like the weather stick around for 10 minutes

Rain and drizzle still in the forecast but we need it. Pretty uneventful walk and the most interesting thing is probably the sky which is alternating between dark and rainy to completely nice and sunny about every 20 minutes or so. A guy on a bike passed me and commented that he experienced every type of weather from one end of the park to the other. Totally true. At least the rain is bringing the water levels back up in the park. Finally on the north east side I spotted a lone Doe who was eating everything in site. Must be trying to pack on the pounds before winter.