FEBRUARY 5, 2013

(CLICK on the photographs to ENLARGE them) Oh, Deer! There was a herd of nine deer on the hill side near the Braves' baseball field at Dan Daniel park. They were beautiful to see since there were deer of many different sizes including a couple of young ones. My only regret is that this is the herd that the white deer and her mother hung out with; I don't know what happened to her, but I haven't seen her since before Thanksgiving. But, these deer made it a beautiful afternoon on the Riverwalk trail.

January 19, 2013

(Click Photos to Enlarge) The woods along the Riverwalk Trail seemed full of woodpeckers this morning. I could hear the tap-tap-tap as they searched for bugs, but most interesting was their hanging up-side-down as they ate white berries from the trees. The small red stripe of the downy woodpeckers made them stand out against the dark wood of the trees. As we drove into Dan Daniel park, I saw a couple of young deer munching the grass near the road, and I stopped to take their pictures. They occasionally looked up, but didn't seem to shy at all.

I also saw the two ladies who enjoy feeding the ducks and geese on the trail. They are concerned that the city may enact a law to make it illegal to feed the ducks and geese. I have mixed feelings, but I tend to side with the ladies. The bread they feed may not be the healthiest food for the birds, but the ladies do enjoy feeding the birds, and it is the reason they enjoy getting up each day to walk the 2-3 miles along the trail. I also see families bringing loaves of bread to give their children for feeding the ducks and geese. It give the children a close-up and personal experience with nature.

The major complaint from those who walk on the trail is that the bread causes the geese to leave more dropping on the trail. In all the years I have walked down there, I have never found that to be a problem, and besides, when we go on the trail, we are in their home, and wildlife leave their droppings where ever they may be. May biggest concern is not the wildlife along the river, but speeding bikers who come up behind me without warning. But that's for another day. Overall, it was a very good day on the Riverwalk trail.

January 18, 2013

The river, after the week of rain and then yesterday's snow, has swollen beyond its banks on many sections of the Riverwalk. The geese hug the shoreline a the rapid river speeds past, and the birds hang high up in the trees. Deer come down from the hills to drink from temporary ponds created in areas that had been dry meadowland. This afternoon, a small bluebird caught my eye as it jumped from a tree into a newly created pond, stood there, and then jump up to fly back into the nearby tree. It was a beautiful sight in the winter world where the snow had melted into puddles and the river was encroaching upon the land. It was another good day on the Riverwalk.

January 13, 2013

This was a spring-like morning on the Riverwalk. As we entered the park, we saw a young deer standing on the side of a hill eating berries. Along the trail we saw few birds, since we had started our walk later in the morning, but we did see a couple of mockingbirds go at each other at either play or as the territorial dance they carry out. Though it was foggy when we started the walk, the sun was out towards the end of the walk and the temperature was approaching the mid-60s. It was a beautiful day on the Riverwalk trail.