For various reasons it’s been difficult to get out much lately, so today was a trip to the forest of Croft State Park, a favorite place for a walk in the woods. Both me and my avian side needed to get out.
[bird] That’s for sure.
[human] Ahem. Anyway, Morning in the forest is always a good time.

There’s a lot more water in and flowing out of Lake Craig than last time I was here. Then the lake level was down for maintenance, but recent rains have filled it back up.

Lots of water for the ducks to play in now.

This looked a bit precarious, but it was to the side of the trail, so no concern.
[bird] Unless you land on the wrong part of it. Hey, you should let me write this, I know way more about forests than you ever will!
[human] All right, my assertive avian half. Start peckin’ the keyboard!

[bird] You don’t survive in the wild without being assertive, even aggressive at times. So here’s a tree that died some time ago but has turned into a veritable high-rise condo (as you might call it) for all sorts of forest residents:

How here’s another example of human nonsense, running this “road” right through the middle of the forest.
[human] That road is the edge of the forest.
[bird] No it isn’t. Look! There’s forest on both sides of it! This .. thing .. is right in the middle of the forest.

Now there’s a flight hazard, that TV tower.

[human] Guess we go on foot here, eh?
[bird] The sign doesn’t say anything about wings.
[human] Well, aircraft are vehicles.
[bird] A bird on the wing is no more a “vehicle” than you’re a bus when you walk.

The human had trouble finding the trail in areas like this, but I knew where we were going.

Now you’d think with a name like “Rocky Ridge Trail”, the trail would be up there on the ridge. But, No. You’d also think there’d be more rocks around.

Now here’s a nice little spot, with the water keeping things just a bit warmer and greener. I’ll bet there’s some insects there that’ll make a good snack. Let me…
[human] uh, no…
[bird] Wuss. Alright, where’s those peanuts you said you brought?

Deer tracks mixed in with the horse tracks that the human found reassuring when the trail wasn’t so easy for him to follow.

Down to the Fairforest Creek and more greenery. Got any more of those peanuts?

Clearly all that rain had the water up over this bridge. At least this one didn’t get washed away like that other one a while back.

I didn’t want to leave, but the human said I ate almost all the food we brought, and didn’t seem interested in the stuff to eat all around us.
[human] Are you done?
[bird] I guess so.

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/10697234481

My avian side wanted to celebrate the Solstice, but that wasn’t a company holiday, so I decided to let him have Christmas Eve in the woods at the Long Cane [so-called] Horse Trail (despite the name, it’s multi-use). Since this was my inner-bird’s day, I’ll let him do the typing. My typing is hunt and peck anyway.

[bird] Oh you’re funny.

Anyway, as my other half (note I didn’t say my “better” half) said, I wanted to mark the Solstice. For those of us in the wild the Solstice is really the Important Day this season. The days stop getting shorter and start getting longer. Slowly at first, but in a couple of months there’ll be noticeably more daylight every day. More daylight means more time to forage for food and more time to let the sun warm your feathers even as the winter cold sets in. And, of course, Spring is coming!

Morning is always an exciting time, time to get moving!

I know there was another bird up there, I was picking up his, what you would call, ADS-B.

Trees tell stories.

Humans like that red-and-green theme around this time, so here ya go.

It’s kind of jarring to come out of the woods and to something like this…

…but the human said to cross this stream using the bridge. It would have been trivial to just fly across.

Forests a nuisance?? How could anyone with half a brain think that?

Speaking of nuisances, how is it that humans call this the Sumter National Forest and then cut down the trees? If it’s a FOREST you need TREES! And why leave just those few trees standing? They’re probably doomed now anyway, like the ones that already fell over!

[human] You’re starting to sound like Squeaks from Nature Cat when she gets angry at abuses of nature.
[bird] And why not? HUMANS ARE STUPID!

Ahem. I think that one-lane bridge sign is a bit redundant, no? Just as well, humans need to be kept in their lane.

The ground tells stories too, like these bird tracks.

and these … bird? tracks?

Horses, bikes, dogs…

And now we’re back where we started.

Sigh.

[human] Wait, if this is where we started, where’s the sun?
[bird] It moved, you dofus! It’s now LATE in the day!
Really, why do I put up with this …. primate?

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/10431879496

With a couple days off and realizing that I hadn’t been to the mountains in a while, I grabbed a campsite reservation at Davidson River, NC.

Did a little “hike in” (I’m still practicing for a real backpacking trip), and set up camp.

Dinner at the River View restraunt.

My full day there started with breakfast at dawn, my favorite time of day.

This is why I like to get an early start. I was off to travel the Sycamore Cove, Grassy Road, Thrift Cove, and added on for good measure, the Andy Cove nature trail.

Some of these trails, it’s best to not look up, contrary to the usual advice. Instead, just keep moving and you’ll get to the top and you can then look down.

Then again, there are places where maybe you shouldn’t look down either.

I have no idea what this little figure was doing here. Seems like the sort of thing that would have a story behind it.

I know some of my relatives think I’m crazy (well, ok, that’s a well-establish fact) with my mountain biking, but the tracks here indicate that some people go way past what I’ll attempt.

or what I’ll ride

I wanted to show that the river keeps operating after dark, but evidently my night vision is better than my phone’s.

After that it was time to roost. When you’re outdoors and eschewing artificial light, 7pm looks a lot like 10pm and I had no problem getting to sleep right after dark. Might be my avian side.
The next day I “hiked out” on the North Slope trail. There are a couple of bridges that just look precarious.

When I stopped for a break, I noticed this plant. Nature is always preparing for the Next Thing. Even though winter is just getting going, there were little buds forming. Or maybe it’s climate change.

Now let’s see, what’s the rule of thumb about which side of the tree moss grows on? Oh yeah, the top.

This plant with the red stem stood out in the sun.

Then it was time to head back to civilization, job, tax notices, insurance, … sigh.
Strava links:
https://www.strava.com/activities/10326948702
https://www.strava.com/activities/10328324561
https://www.strava.com/activities/10334074324

I decided to spend Thanksgiving at my favorite place for a “little” walk in the woods, Croft State Park. Ok, “little” is a relative term, I spend basically the whole day following trails.

I like to get an early start.

We have lots of Robins around this time of year (for those of you up North, this is where they go in the winter).

Getting pictures of birds up in the trees isn’t easy. This one got away.

Holly berries were widespread.

After walking through the woods for a couple hours, it’s a bit jarring to come across something like this.

Fortunately, they do give some warning.

The area between the lakes.

A day doesn’t get much bluer than this (Lake Johnson is still low after maintenance earlier this year).

It was getting well into the afternoon by the time I got to the Beech Tree Trail, which I know has a lot of elevation change in a short distance, so, take the short route back, or go for it? What would Molly do? I went for it. There are places it’s better to not look up, but look down after you complete the climb.

The route on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/10270869622.

I know, I’ve got some catchin’ up to do with the pictures. I’ve been out there with the camera, but been a bit preoccupied trying to figure out how to ride a mountain bike.

Speaking of mountain bikes, you can see some odd things along the trails, like this “appliance in the woods” I found beside the Long Cane Horse Trail:

I’d really like to know what that small freezer was doing out in the middle of the woods, and why it’s so celebrated.

Anyway, back to the lake, Great Egrets are here, I usually see them just in the late summer – early autumn.

Feast day for the spiders stringing webs around the bridge:

I don’t recall seeing ducks like these before, but they are ducks:

I’m not sure what drew in these Black Vultures, maybe they just wanted some time at the beach:

Nature’s lesson: just because a tree has died, that doesn’t mean it’s contribution to the forest is at an end:

Now this could be noteworthy, if my identification is correct:

This seems to match pictures and other information for a Limpkin. That is, matches everything except the range maps, which show Limpkins inhabiting no farther north than Florida. Climate change in action?

And, of course the obligatory Great Blue Heron pictures:

And, yes, they do fly in the fog. They must be equipped for IFR.

We’ve had some neat sunrises lately. I’ll leave you with this one: