Saturday, January 17, 2009

Winter walk in the woods

Across the street from our house there's a trail in the woods. It's on our neighbor's property, but they kindly let us meander through whenever we like. The exact path of the trail has been changed a bit here and there over time, but there's always so much to see (and hear) when walking it.

Last weekend I said to Dave, "Let's go for a walk." He knows that sometimes the "us" in that sentence includes my camera, which means he'll have to do lots of standing around while I stop to look, ponder, compose and shoot. I'm SO thankful for such a patient partner!

A small creek, called the Onion Run, runs through the woods, and the trail zigs and zags toward the creek several times.




tributary of the Onion Run in early stages of freezing

Some parts of the Onion Run flow smooth, the water gently carving its path.



In other places, the creek gurgles and rushes, catching the rocks and leaves below.



Sycamore trees and their roots cling to the edges of the creekbed.




In addition to the water and the trees, there are so many flowers and grasses to observe along the trail.


unidentified grass



milkweed pods, bursting forth


Ironweed, my favorite


Looks like someone has been living here, probably a woodpecker

There are lots of other pictures that I would like to share, but the post would just go on and on. I've been playing with the "collage" feature that's available in the latest version of Picasa, and have found a way to save some space and still share some of my favorite photos.


triptych of grass and seedheads


collage of Virgin's Bower - a showy vine that is very easy to spot when it's in bloom, but even more so from afar when all the leaves are off the trees


fungi collage

I've never mentioned it before specifically, but you can always click on the pictures for a larger view. Most of the time you will be taken into a Picasa web album where you can see all of the pictures from a particular post.

I hope you enjoyed my walk through the woods. I'll be taking you there again and again.

5 comments:

Kelly said...

Thanks, Heather. I enjoyed your photos, especially the milkweed pods and the woodpecker hole! I would like to have a little more milkweed growing in our yard. Last year, a little sprouted up around a bird feeder, and I was very happy. It reminds me of when I was a child...milkweed was abundant in our backyard (I think the monarchs were happy about it too!).

Mary said...

Hi Heather,

Thanks for taking me along your walk. I'd love to find a trail with a creek like yours...I'd even walk it alone. How lucky you are to have company who is patient! LOL! My husband is always 15 feet ahead of me...

I'd say you are the master of macro. You remind me to practice!

Beautiful photos, Heather. I especially like the fungi collage.

Mary

Mary

RuthieJ said...

Great pictures from your walk in the woods Heather! I especially liked the perfectly round woodpecker hole.

Shelley said...

A lovely walk! Really liked that sycamore tree in the water! That woodpecker hole looks like its from a nice sized woodpecker. It's similir in size to my red bellied's home in my yard.

Heather said...

Kelly: Yes, milkweed is a beautiful plant. Unfortunately our yard is very shady, so I can't have it near the house, but plenty of it grows near the roadside on our road, so I can enjoy it there.

Mary: Thanks for coming along! Yes, I'm very much a macro kind of girl - I love those close-up photos. Thanks for your comments.

Ruthie: Hope you don't think I was copying your "walk with me" post! ;) I'm glad you came along. That woodpecker hole is pretty perfect. Amazing, huh?

Shelley: Thanks for joining in. I could imagine a red bellied using that hole. I hope to someday be able to see a woodpecker cavity in use!