Walking on Our Own - Two Hours in the Weeds

None of your knowledge,

your reading,

your connections

will be of any use here: 

two legs suffice, 

and big eyes to see with.

Walk alone, 

across mountains 

or through forests.

You are nobody to the hills or the thick boughs heavy with greenery. 

You are no longer a role, 

or a status, 

not even an individual, 

but a body, 

a body that feels sharp stones on the paths, 

the caress of long grass and the freshness of the wind. 

When you walk, 

the world has neither present nor future: 

nothing but the cycle of mornings and evenings. 

Always the same thing to do all day: 

walk. 

But the walker who marvels while walking 

(the blue of the rocks in a July evening light, 

the silvery green of olive leaves at noon, 

the violet morning hills) 

has no past, 

no plans, 

no experience. 

He has within him the eternal child. 

While walking I am but a simple gaze.

― Frédéric Gros, A Philosophy of Walking 

The hike began and ended with crows - they "haw-hawed"and the squirrels chattered. And those, save the gurgling of the creek and the bells of the Baptist Church.

This crow went flying. I tried, but could not track it from tree to tree.

Asters in white and purple (but mostly white) lined the banks of the creek. We hugged these edges of green looking for tiny flowers.

We saw the creek in a different way as we journeyed off the paved walks. It was only a little muddy and we easily avoided the fireant mounds.

This heron, most recently fishing under the pedestrian bridge, was downstream balancing on a fallen tree.

He tried to act like he didn't see us.

But he did.

Green poinsettia was a little reminder of the holidays to come.

There is no question of the identity of this mound, but the databases never believe me unless...

I disturb the ants. Fire Ants - Red Imported Fire Ants. I am not a fan. Their mounds are everywhere.

Bluets

Amaranth

Santa Maria Feverfew

Bur Oak - I did not realize there was a Bur Oak in this park until I saw the acorns (come on - we are usually looking for birds and wildflowers). It is a huge old tree. Yes, yes I did save some seed.

Carolina Snailseed - when I was a kid I think we were told that snakes ate this. Weird stuff they tell you. Hard to know what is true and what is false.

Frogfruit and Straggler Daisy. Love the little ones.

Yes, we have fall colors. No, do not gather them unless you know what they are. These leaves are poison ivy.

I thought these purple/green leaves were lovely too - tievine. I should have known.

See, I told you asters lined the creek.

It's that bastard cabbage...I hate it. Need to carry a trash bag and pull a few weeds when I can.

One of the many piles of driftwood - and trash.

Grapevine

Another snag. This is under the Second Avenue bridge.

A path down to the creek. Zelda tried to drag me over a cliff and down a few paths. I thought better of it.

A small snag on the bank. I know someone who might be digging through these snags with me, if she was here.

Panicled Ticktrefoil - it looks like a pea blossom. I saved some seed...then I found other seeds clinging to my fleece jacket.

It has a pretty bloom.

The feral pigeons did some swoops around us, but not like yesterday.

More asters - they just make me smile, except when they appear to be something else and I get excited to find them just asters.

I could not believe this fox squirrel was 1) so close and 2) so still. I also cannot believe Zelda did not see the squirrel.

I knew it saw me, but I think it froze so it wouldn't give away it's location.

Zelda could have gotten it, but the creek was just on the other side. I didn't think wet dog or wet person a good idea.

Someone lost a shoe.

Four o'clocks?

Pretty, whatever...

I saw some white blooms up a concrete drainage structure. We climbed to find this Purple Leatherflower blooming. There were a number of seed heads as well. I a already timing my seed harvest.

This was the best surprise of the walk. This is why you need to get off the path sometimes (unless it is a place they want you on the trails).

Woohoo! I love these wild and crazy seeds.

Frostweed

Frostweed Bloom

I could see the seeds - just waiting for me. They are still waiting.

Mexican Buckeye

Now THIS is something you can pick for fall colors - Virginia Creeper.

Another path - this one ends in a cliff. No, I did not walk this one either. But I will when I have someone to hold Zelda back.

A viburnum of some variety

I kept being distracted by this little white flower - only to discover it was a little tuft of down from the ducks.

Goldeneye

Stuff that's floated down the creek in recent floods.

Freshwater clam, among other things.

I was just taking random shots. NOW I see some interesting stuff. I may need to go back and do some scavenging.

One of the biggest "devil's toenail" shell fossils I've seen

The waterfall at what used to be a low-water crossing.

I glanced down the creek and thought I saw a heron wading.

It was a heron and startled before I could get another photo.

I love this creek.

The snag under the I35 bridge. I think someone needs to take a look at this one.

Shamrocks/Woodsorrel

Over and over these dragonflies would light and then zip off. They had a "pop" of red on the body. I saw one land in the grass and stalked it.

It's hard to see the red here, but when the sun is reflecting off the body - wow!

One our way back to the car two squirrels were fussing at each other. This is one.

Caught him.

This is the GBH that we have found fishing under the Penelope Street bridge. It has some injury or marking on its wing so I can identify it. 

Looks like he was waiting for me too.

Another view of the creek.

This bird watched me and I watched him. And I took a ridiculous number of photos - as the ducks intruded and then finally left.

It was a little windy and I loved the way the wind caught this GBH's feathers.

My intrepid companion guards the few (really DH - very few) bits of driftwood we gathered.

Dandelion and fly

Crows

NOTES:

We took a walk mid-morning. It was cooler than normal. We skirted the creek most of the way and found some friends (all three herons - finally) and one surprise. Our normal one hour walk took two. Then Zelda and I napped most of the rest of the day. 

This walk was for VM who was not feeling well and missed the hike. We missed her (and Ginger too). 

We call this duck "Bomber" as he kept photo-bombing us.

A beautiful old red brick smoothed by its trip down the creek.

"Where are our friends? Take me home, now."

The loot: one rock (I think it has a fossil in it (!), 4 small pieces of driftwood for handles, a handful of Bur Oak acorns to plant, and two kinds of wildflower seeds to spread (in my yard or a friend's). See? A place for everything. Hahahaha!