Yesterday we finally saw our very first snow of the season. Up until now there hasn't been even a single flurry of snow in the air. This year there was no mistaking that winter weather had arrived as wet, sticky snow came down hard carried by 30mph winds.
It stuck onto everything vertical including tree tops which soon toppled under several inches of very heavy snow. The park sure looked different from my last visit, two weeks to the day. There were plenty of downed trees, including this one that had fallen right into the creek on the north side. Even the paved path was a hard trek through half-melted, half-frozen, sloppy slush. It was a brutal reminder of how hard it can become just to circle the park in winter time.
The silver lining though is that there are fewer people and more opportunity to see wildlife. This proved true just minutes after crossing the bridge when I spotted a couple of deer near the northern most tip of the park. The further one was obviously a fawn but the closer one was hard to tell. As I stopped to take pictures, the (doe?) closer to me became seriously curious and walked slowly straight towards me. I found myself having to pull my zoom back further and further just to get her in the picture. I knelt down on one knee to seem smaller and less of a threat as she continued coming closer. I sat there in amazement as she walked RIGHT up to me.
I seriously thought she might have even touched my outstretched hand had I had some food. She easily came within ten feet of me! I was just shocked but remained still and let her check me out. I managed to raise my camera for some photos without spooking her. I was lucky that nobody else came down the trail as she would have taken off for sure.
It stuck onto everything vertical including tree tops which soon toppled under several inches of very heavy snow. The park sure looked different from my last visit, two weeks to the day. There were plenty of downed trees, including this one that had fallen right into the creek on the north side. Even the paved path was a hard trek through half-melted, half-frozen, sloppy slush. It was a brutal reminder of how hard it can become just to circle the park in winter time. 
The silver lining though is that there are fewer people and more opportunity to see wildlife. This proved true just minutes after crossing the bridge when I spotted a couple of deer near the northern most tip of the park. The further one was obviously a fawn but the closer one was hard to tell. As I stopped to take pictures, the (doe?) closer to me became seriously curious and walked slowly straight towards me. I found myself having to pull my zoom back further and further just to get her in the picture. I knelt down on one knee to seem smaller and less of a threat as she continued coming closer. I sat there in amazement as she walked RIGHT up to me. 
I seriously thought she might have even touched my outstretched hand had I had some food. She easily came within ten feet of me! I was just shocked but remained still and let her check me out. I managed to raise my camera for some photos without spooking her. I was lucky that nobody else came down the trail as she would have taken off for sure.
No comments:
Post a Comment