Wednesday brought a perfect summer morning, and I was on the trails at 6:45 with the goal of getting at least 5 miles in and then getting home for breakfast, lawn mowing, and grocery-getting.
The Guy My Imagination Thought Might Be Living at The Park told me yesterday about the crazy number of turtles he saw nesting over near the “lake,” so I started out with a short loop near the shore before hitting the suspension bridge which leads to the real cock and balls of the trails.
There were signs of turtle nests everywhere, but no turtles. Sadly, given the amount of discarded egg shells, it looks as if some critters found the nests and had themselves an egg buffet. I really don’t know how the turtle species continues, given their poor choices in nesting locations. Maybe at least TRY to hide your shit?
I made up for missing the shot of the Wood Frog (Lithobates Sylvaticus) the other day with a shot today when one jumped in front of me as I plodded along in the dark woods, waiting for the rays of sunshine to finally burn through the morning mist and cut through the thick canopy of leaves above.
Wood Frogs are pretty tiny, and this one was only about an inch in length. My eyesight, even corrected, is horrible, and I’m always amazed that I see the little frogs at all, let alone get an image of one. I should probably make an appointment with my eye doctor.
I also saw some deer, but no shot was really tickling my fancy, which sucks because my fancy was in need of tickling. Alas, I’ve said too much.
I finished the lumber with a stop by the small pond near the parking lot that is home to some green frogs and the occasional turtle. I heard lots of splashes and plops as I searched the muddy banks and finally saw a Green Frog (Lithobates Clamitans) basking in the sunlit pond scum.
I’m sitting at 16.93 miles on the week, and whilst I said I was taking it easy this week, I am VERY tempted to bang out the remaining 13-ish miles over the next two days. If for no other reason than to prove to myself that I am not the overweight tub of goo that I appear to be.
Later.