Today I got back to one of my favorite places to take a walk in the woods: Croft State Park, where there are literally dozens of kilometers of trails, although some areas are temporarily closed right now for “ordnance removal”. This area used to to be a military training base back during World War II and they’re working to clear up any remaining Dangerous Stuff from that time.

Now this is my kind of trail:

That was along the Beech Tree trail, which apparently doesn’t get a lot of traffic. Correction, a lot of human traffic:

This area was torn up by a tornado back in 2019, but seems to be recovering nicely. Compare with what I saw back then.

One thing about nature, everything gets recycled. It’s definitely “one life form’s trash is another’s treasure” (yes, these trails are used by horses).

The Beech Tree trail has a couple of creek crossings, which I thought might be a challenge after the previous night’s rains, but not a big deal with a little “rock collecting”:

This one took a bit of a “leap of faith”, as it wasn’t possible to gauge ahead of time how solid that bit of tree was. Worked out fine though.

The natural world is always changing. I’m sure there was something there for this vine to wrap around at one time:

All in all it was a perfect day. The prior night’s rain rinsed everything off (although it did leave some trail areas muddy), and the east wind kept a pretty solid overcast in place to keep temperatures in the 60F’s. Not the kind of day you might expect around here with it being almost summer, but I’ll take it!

Hey! Guess what! The Creature Feature is back! It seems like I’ve had one thing after another going on this season so far (some of which you’ve seen here), so it took me until today to get out on the lake here.
It was good to get off the land for a bit and visit some of my favorite quieter places (reminder: you can click on the image to get a full-resolution version).

I wonder if these two guys were “ugly gooslings”?

A hawk of some sort up high….

…and a dragonfly down low

That white fuzzy stuff wasn’t snow, but some plant seeds blowin’ in the wind. Some got caught up in spider webs.

This Mallard was chillin’ out….

…until time to move. Here I come! I think a lot of bird calls are the avian equivalent to our ADS-B.

Flarin’ a little high there, don’t ya think?

I guess not.

Meanwhile, the Canada Geese were watching. I expected them to hold up numbers.

I’m not sure, at first I thought these guys might be juvenile Killdeer. They were smaller than the adults and I’m not sure of the plumage, which was really hard to spot unless they were moving.

But they sure behaved and sounded like Killdeer. I think though, they might be Spotted Sandpipers, which would be a new one around here for me.

Now here’s an exclamation point. I had to go digging for an ID on these birds, and came up with Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks. Range maps don’t show them anywhere near here, but they sure are a match.

They didn’t vocalize as I went by, so I don’t know if these whistled, but maybe climate change is driving them this way?

And, finally, wait for it…
.
.
The Obligatory Great Blue Heron picture! Heron 103 cleared for takeoff!

Warp 1 now!

If it was wanted by South Carolina state authorities, I guess I’d be a fugitive now. But sometimes not being wanted is a good thing.

First, the reason I left the state this particular weekend: my very favorite singer/songwriter/musician, Samara Jade, was doing a patio show at the Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC. I think this must be the spot, although that eagle on the right doesn’t look very grey.

This couldn’t have been planned better to lure me out of my COVID hideout. It was a great show and I even got to speak with her. Her music, aside from just being great music, indicates to me that she understands the world, in particular the natural world, in ways that most people completely Don’t. Those who come here to get some peeks at nature through my pictures will probably find something that resonates in her music. Check her out on Band Camp and anywhere else fine music is streamed.

Even with the early show time, I figured I might as well spend the night in the area and save the long drive home for the next day. There was a dirt road behind the hotel that, curiously, had a “slow down, kids playing” sign just ahead of a large excavator.

Must be some Big Kids.

Also seen at the hotel, this bumper sticker on a New York car:

(speaking of the natural world)

First thing in the morning I headed over to the Dupont State Recreational Forest, run by the North Carolina Forest Service. As is typical for me, I got there well before the visitor center opened.

I was going to ask for suggestions for a trail to hike, but instead just set off from the visitor center on the High Falls Loop trail. The trail was mostly gravel, which I didn’t find to be the most pleasant thing to walk on, but it was very easy to follow the trail.

If you like waterfalls, this is the place for you. This is the view from a covered bridge not far from the visitor’s center.

Watch that first step, it’s a doozy!
Some of the trails are a bit of a doozy too. I’m not sure this is an official trail, but seemed well-traveled. So what’s one more set of bird tracks?

Remember what I said about that first drop from the covered bridge?

Guess that’s why they call these “High Falls”.

There are places where the water gets a rest…

…until the next set of falls (Triple Falls):

(all that water, and it’s still not enough for what humans want??)
Rocks? You want rocks?

The Hooker Falls are a little quieter.

Some trails are rated “difficult”. I found most signs Mean what they Say, so take heed.

After a bit of snacking I found the Three Lake Trail. This trail is a bit less
“maintained”, but more to my own liking.

As you might expect, it leads to a lake, for those who like their water in less of a hurry to get downhill.

Towards the end of my time there, I came out of a trail and waited while some other hikers went by. I realized, and said “I don’t want to leave this place”. But leave I must, as there were people waiting back home for me, not the least of which are the feathered ones who were probably wondering why I didn’t fill the feeders this morning.

Coming home I followed US-276 south out of the mountains. This looked like it would be a very scenic route, but you Really Need to keep your eyes on the road. Once again, those curve signs saying “15 MPH” really Mean what they Say.

Interestingly, the river I was hiking along there, the Little River, is the same one that comes all the way down through my nearby town. I could have kayaked my way home. Just watch out for that first step, it’s a doozy!

I had remarked not long ago that there’d usually be two or three days during a winter when conditions would keep me at home, but that hadn’t happened lately. Well, I won’t be doing any driving today, but then again, now I have no reason to. So, “let it sleet, let it sleet, let it sleet!” (I think that’s how the song goes, at least the southern version).


While the snow may look neat to those of us who don’t see it often, it does make it more difficult for those in the wild. It often seems that the beauty of Nature is at it’s best when Nature is at her worst.

And that’s why suddenly I have a lot more traffic at my back yard bird feeders.

Still, it makes for a nice walk in the woods.

Tracks in the snow can tell a story. I’m not sure what to make of these tracks. I don’t think they were from some dog being walked, because there were no other tracks around and these went across the road. That’s a size 10-1/2 shoe for comparison.

These tracks tell a different story, one that involves a lesson on coeficient of friction as applied to road surfaces.

Y’all drive carefully!

While we’ve had some really nice weather lately, so much so that I’ve been able to work outside a good bit where the insect-eating Green Anoles would help me “debug” my code,

today was the kind of day that says “knock knock, guess which season is at the door?” 44F/7C degrees, overcast. light rain, northeast breeze.

This is the sort of day a lot of humans would say “ugh, I’m not going out, I’m going to stay in here with a hot beverage and good book”. But I take my cues from nature, and all the other birds were out and about this morning, so why shouldn’t I be out there too (albeit with a good coat and hat)? Getting out on the lake didn’t seem like a good option, but a walk in the woods? You bet!

The leaves are finally starting to change color here in earnest. Here’s a few pictures from the woods along the lake.





There’s still a good bit of green around though.

Sorry, no Great Blue Heron picture, but I did see one along the shore.

“Because all creatures are connected, each must be cherished with love and respect, for all of us as living creatures are dependent on one another.” – Pope Francis

The forest is dark, but not quiet. Crickets, cicadas, foxes, owls, coyotes, frogs, and countless others all call out as they go about their nocturnal duties.

A blue jay calls out a single, long clear note into the night. This is answered by another, and another, until several jays are exchanging notes across a circle up in the trees. The jays position themselves to catch the patches of dappled moonlight coming through the trees, so each one seems to possess a Cherenkov-blue glow.

Soon other forest denizens respond in their own way, adding their notes to the whole, and take up places in the moonlight to glow in their own fashion. Owls and vultures up in the tree tops, crickets down on the forest floor, coyotes come, adding their bass howls, the tree frogs in a tilted circle, all forming a sphere. Even those who normally do not communicate vocally, like the deer, rabbits and lizards come to contribute their presence.

So far this Sphere has been defined only by the sounds around it, but now the trees and plants lean towards the edge of The Sphere, giving it a physical shape. Fireflies light the vague boundaries.

The Song that forms is not so much a song of melodies and lyrics, but of lives. Lives that are intricately interconnected, each one dependent on each and every other one, all reliant on each other. Even as they compete with, or prey upon, each other, they’re all still working in concert to ensure the survival of the whole.

A soft white glow forms in the center of The Sphere, filling it with a welcome and welcoming presence…

Not far away, another creature senses the rite in progress and awakens from a dream-laden sleep. This creature is not like the others. Physically they are almost indistinguishable, having a familiar 4-limbed format and the same basic DNA-driven processes that all life here uses. But this creature knows nothing of The Song, and that makes all the difference in The World.

The creature climbs out of a fabric shelter that is made of nothing found in the forest, and moves towards The Song, shining and following a light neither bio-luminescent nor celestial.

Upon reaching the place of The Sphere, the creature beholds ….

…… nothing. The forest is dark, but not quiet. Crickets, cicadas, foxes, owls, coyotes, frogs, and countless others all call out as they go about their nocturnal duties.

The creature follows the light that is neither bio-luminescent nor celestial back to the fabric shelter that is made of nothing found in the forest, and knows something, something of vital importance, has been missed and lost, but just might be found again, and not far away.