After battling increasingly painful lower back pain for more than a year, I am fairly convinced that my long walks at PLP are detrimental to my condition. I was told only yesterday by my newest care provider to limit my walking to 30 minutes or less. So today I decided I would hike out only as far as the bridge from 73rd Ave. N. and maybe just sit for a while. In order to do so I had to dress extremely warm with the temps somewhere in the teens coupled with a nasty wind. Shingle Creek had only just barely frozen over as of yesterday –kind of a "flash freeze" due to the sudden drop in temperature on Saturday. It was as smooth as a skating rink but only maybe half an inch thick, trapping leaves and seeds in their place which reflected in the sun. I sat the base of a large Cottonwood tree on the sunny side which was also the windward side and watched out over the creek. I wondered if I might see a Mink, or even better the River Otter that had been reported by a friend of mine. After a long while of not seeing anything I decided to hike back along the creek bank. Almost as soon as I'd turned around I saw something brown and furry scurry across the ice quickly – a Mink!
I waited for another long while and eventually it came back across to my side again. I was really far for a photo so I hiked up a bit further and waited again. Sure enough I saw him one more time but by the time I pulled my camera up I was sure I missed him. When I got home and looked closely I can just barely make out his rear end and tail poking out of the weeds, as indicated by the pink arrow. After giving it another long while and not seeing him again I decided to call it and hike back. I'd honestly not seen more than maybe 1 bird by this time and was thinking I wouldn't have any photos to post today. But on the very short hike back to my car I did end up seeing a few Robins, Chickadees and Juncos. One of the Juncos held very still for me long enough to get in close and I was pleasantly surprised with the photo I got. I was really happy to get such a nice shot of any bird today in the short distance I hiked. This one bird and photo meant the world to me today.
I waited for another long while and eventually it came back across to my side again. I was really far for a photo so I hiked up a bit further and waited again. Sure enough I saw him one more time but by the time I pulled my camera up I was sure I missed him. When I got home and looked closely I can just barely make out his rear end and tail poking out of the weeds, as indicated by the pink arrow. After giving it another long while and not seeing him again I decided to call it and hike back. I'd honestly not seen more than maybe 1 bird by this time and was thinking I wouldn't have any photos to post today. But on the very short hike back to my car I did end up seeing a few Robins, Chickadees and Juncos. One of the Juncos held very still for me long enough to get in close and I was pleasantly surprised with the photo I got. I was really happy to get such a nice shot of any bird today in the short distance I hiked. This one bird and photo meant the world to me today.
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