Play date at the creek

We had been planning this walk for about a week...and the weather reports kept changing - cooler, chances of rain, COLD, no rain - we had to wait it out to see what the morning would bring.

Yes, it was cold, but the sky was clear. We knew it would warm up quickly so we tried not to over-dress and packed extra jackets and hats and gloves (just in case).

We met our party for breakfast. OC, OB and JB showed up and we chatted about what we would be doing and who we might see. We did not want anyone to be surprised by all the puppies at the park.

OB has good balance and great fingernails! (No point in being bored waiting for breakfast!)

We were unloading our dogs as TDW drove up. Then we all headed into the park. The grass was wet and the dogs were reluctant at first. Then they "took off" and wandered only somewhat "with" us as we headed to the creek.

I am not a fan of walking through thigh high grass. I still remember my Daddy finding many a rattlesnake in the tall grass. We tried to stay on the paths and shaded our eyes from the sun so we could see where we were walking.

Scruffy wasted no time in running through the grass - getting covered in dew and seeds.

Golden "sea" of grass.

Scruffy following a scent.

Paddy joins him.

Paddy, Stanley and Hugo quickly discover that OB is a fun kiddo.

We walked the creek a little.

The level of water in the creek continues downward. We shivered in the shade along the creek banks. No fossils showed themselves, but we will come back and look again.

The sun tried to break through the thick woods along the creek.

It was very cold in the shade along the creek bed. (Some bad kids made faces).

We talked about many things - laughed at the antics of the dogs (and politicians) and planned our next adventure. Paddy and Scruffy hogged all the affection OB dished out. They have a tendency to stay pretty close to us during most walks. But then Paddy headed away from the group. We think she might have gotten the scent of a deer (we were at the place we could tell deer cross the creek) or a coyote (TDW has seen quite a few at this park). She would not come back until we shouted our only effective call, "COOKIES!"

A leash was waiting with her cookie and Paddy did not get to run again. This park is too small and too close to the highway and some homes for dogs to disappear. And we did not have that kind of time (to hunt  or wait for a misbehaving puppy) today.

"Brrrrr"

Check out these gloves.

Wiggy gloves still work for petting Paddy. She LOVED the attention.

Looking towards the highway. We heard one shot coming from this direction.

The water in the creek continues to recede...wonder what we will find when it's dry.

Scruffy comes running back first when OB calls "COOKIES!"

Ruby rests by TDW. She has become so well behaved!

Handsome Hugo walking through what remains of the wildflowers.

Even the snow-on-the-prairie is beginning to look a little ragged.

The "oranges" on the ground helped us identify the osage orange tree (known by so many other names including bois d'arc*).

This osage orange was a small specimen in the middle of the field. Wonder how it managed to be "planted" there.

Want some horse apple? While not poisonous, they aren't supposed to taste good...still squirrels enjoy the seeds. Guess that is one good reason we won't plant one in the yard.

 After I took the photos of the osage orange* I caught up with the group and told the story of my brother making bows from the bois d'arc tree on my grandmother's property. Well, I was a day late. DH had already told the story (we are becoming those people! We tell the same stories again and again. But I tell 'em right.).

Few flowers are still blooming now.

Another view of the prairie.

 OB found the "tomatoes" from the silver-leaved nightshade.** I had heard OC tell her that I might know what they were. It is a plant I have watched through the seasons and written about before. The bright yellow globes OB had found show well against the dried grasses. "It is a cousin of the tomato and everything about this plant is poisonous," I explained. "No animals eat the flowers, or leaves, or stems, or fruit." [Actually, I am not sure of the purpose of this plant...maybe for us to watch.]

All the pups want OB to walk again (and bring cookies!).

These stunners were also stickers. This is the eryngo*** (don't ask me how to pronounce it). The flowers are a deep purple (see below) and dry to a stickery presence in the fields.

We somehow turned off the path and into an enormous patch of  dried eryngo.*** I kept my hands in my pockets to cover all the exposed skin possible. I suspect our escape from this part of the prairie was hardest on OB, who was a bit shorter than the rest of us. Those few minutes of navigating through the spines and stickers reminded me of that saying about Texas  - 'everything stings, sticks, or bites."

This sunflower was almost at ground level.

We followed the path through the grass.

We finally found our way out of the dried eryngo and onto a path through the grass. It was time to go home. We did stop at the entrance to the west side of the park. We hope to walk there later. It looks like most of that area is wooded and along a deeper stretch of the creek.

Some of the last blooming eryngo*** we saw.

A little fall color begins.

JB, TDW and DH at the trailhead.

A sign that marks the entrance to the park. It is a wildlife area, but bird hunting is allowed. We don't walk when there are hunters about.

I wonder how many gates I have opened in my life whether heading out to a hunting lease or on some other venture. I suspect is is about 1/4 of the number either of my brothers can claim (but still in the hundreds).

I love old locks, the older and rustier the better (see below).

It was a beautiful day.

Our park is split by a highway. This is the "other side" of the park. It does look inviting.

Don't the woods seem to call to you?

This is a walk we will have to take soon.

The last locked gate of the day.

NOTES:

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera

**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_elaeagnifolium

***http://npsot.org/wp/story/2010/1405/ and http://npsot.org/wp/story/2010/1405/