Medina River Natural Area

 

Medina River Natural Area

On a couple different days, we visited the Medina River Natural Area, just outside of San Antonio.  The first time, we walked along the prairie trail and the second, we followed the trail down along the river. 

The Medina River Natural Area is a 511-acre nature preserve, with over 5 miles of biking and hiking trails, although we didn’t see any bikers when we were there. 

When we walked along the first part of the prairie trail, we did notice some lovely wildflowers, including an almost ready to bloom prickly pear cactus, yucca plant, Mexican primrose and a yellow flower that looked like both a coneflower and sunflower.  It’s probably a variety that includes neither of these flowers!!

Buried in the trees and brush a bit, were what I think of as signs of civilization that once was in this area.  There were the remnants of a cabin, with a very unwelcoming front porch.  A bit further along, were 2 chimneys.  The interesting thing about these two chimneys is that although the style of them didn’t seem to belong to one home, they weren’t quite far enough apart to be from separate buildings.  Finally, almost overcome by the preserve claiming the land as its own, was what appeared to be a corral that belonged to some structure at one time.  It was a bit removed from both the cabin and the fireplaces to have been associated with them, so perhaps this was from another home in what may have been a small settlement.

On the outer perimeter of the prairie was a small pond.  You can see a small turtle sunning itself on the branch of a downed tree.  The area is known as a birding site, but on both mornings when we were there, no birds could be seen.  The turtle seemed welcoming, though!

On our second day of exploration of the Medina River Natural Area, we walked the River Path.  It was a very calm and peaceful walk along the river.  One of the interesting things was how the trees along the river would allow their roots into the river to get water.  You can see it in the image on the left, and a closer view on the right image.

Fishing was also allowed on the river, and just out of this image, off to the left, there were a couple of guys who were sitting on the shore and fishing in the river.  I enjoyed the canopy the trees provided for the river.

One last treasure before we left the area.  In a front area that seemed great for teaching kids (and older kids) about the nature in the area, was this lovely bloom – an orchid bloom on an orchid tree.  Kind of made me want one in our yard!!

Enjoy!

A Stop for Max

 

A Stop for Max

Our first official stop on the road was at a state park in Colorado.  We’ve stayed there before with our prior pup, Miki, and thought Max would enjoy a swim in one of the lakes there as well!  And, I saw a few other lovely sites, too!

On the way to the shore of the lake, I saw a few blooms I just had to capture!  This love orchid one seemed to ask for a quote to go along with it.  How could I refuse?

I thought this was a bee on this flower, but it was so slow to move, I’m not sure what type of insect it is.  It’s not often they are this cooperative!

And now, Max in the water.  The images are sequential, from the right (opposite of the way we read) as that’s the direction he was headed!  Max took to the idea of leaping into the water, and in fact, had to do two leaps before he got in water deep enough to swim in and go searching for the stick Jeff tossed.

One last look at a lovely sunflower as we headed back to the Jeep.  The lighting was really nice on it, and I loved the bit of imperfection of its petal.

Enjoy!

 

 

Daisies..Plus One

One morning, as we walked around the campground, I noticed a wonderful group of daisies to photograph, along with another very sweet, very small flower.  Let me share them with you!

They remind me of very happy expectant faces just greeting you and welcoming you to have just the best day!  Daisies have always been one of my favorite flowers because just looking at them makes me smile!

And, for a bit of variation, here’s the same grouping of happy daisy faces, processed as an impressionist painting.  I love Monet’s impressionist paintings, but I can’t think if he ever painted anything quite so happy!!!

Of course, I couldn’t count on the wind not picking up as I photographed them!!  So, I just decided to go with what Nature was giving me, and ended up with some windblown daisies!

This is the “plus one”.  As we walked the campground, I noticed these beautiful blooms.  They are really small, maybe only a couple of inches in diameter, so very easy to miss!  When I processed the image, I thought an appropriate quote would really set off the flowers.  This quote seemed perfect!

Enjoy!

A Walk on the Wild Side

Across from Curry Hammock State Park (where we stayed for 2 weeks) is a sort of annex of the park, what is billed as a Nature Trail.  One morning, Jeff and I decided to take Max on a trail walk, since it was pet-friendly.  The walk began on Grassy Key Trail, a trail that will, eventually, run the entire length of the Keys and will be paved (black-topped) so that walkers, runners and bikers can easily enjoy it.

But, there is a nature trail that branches off from Grassy Key Trail after about ¼ mile from the point where we started.  The map from Curry Hammock provided a map and we thought it would be a good morning outing.  I guess I sort of assumed it would be somewhat of an easy trail to walk (by that, I mean sandy), so I just had my sandals on.  However, as we started down the trail, I realized that it wasn’t going to be a sandy trail!

In fact, the path was covered in patches of coral!  As a bit of history, this part of Florida, the Keys, is fairly “new” land in the overall history of the world.  It’s only about 100,000 years old, a mere baby when you consider the Earth has been around for 4.5 billion years!!  I guess  some  might say the ancient people of the Earth were also responsible for the last great ice age (prehistoric global warming, I guess!) , because, at that time, while snow accumulated forming glaciers in some areas, in other parts of the world, sea levels were dropping, exposing coral reefs that flourish in the Keys.  So, the foundation of the Keys is coral, like you see in the photos above.  It was rather difficult walking on these coral reefs, since the coral is now like some extremely hard and unforgiving rocks, and not the delicate living organism that one finds underwater!  Needless to say, my sandals weren’t really made for this type of walking!!

One thing we did come across that wasn’t plant life, or coral, in nature, were these bones.  We have no idea to what they really belong, but we are guessing that maybe they are those of a Key Deer.  Key Deer are a subspecies of the white-tail deer and are only found on the Florida Keys. They are smaller than typical deer.  There is a protected refuge for them in the Keys.  However, it appears that the area was quite extensively damaged during Hurricane Irma (first Category 5 storm of the Atlantic 2017 hurricane season).  Did this little deer get lost and somehow end up here, several miles north of the protected refuge, due to the storm?  We’ll never know, but it is a mystery of nature.

I have to admit, I really like to photograph palms, and the Keys are certainly a great place to find them!  There were also plenty on this trail.  Here are 2 of my favorite images – one because of the great pattern of lines, leading to or away from the “heart” as I think of it.  The second image is one that really shows how lovely they can look when the sun shines from behind and really lights up the green!

Another interesting thing we saw was this perfectly round hole in the ground as we walked along what seemed to be the main path.  We couldn’t imagine what it was until, a few steps further on the trail, we came to a palm tree growing out of what looks like a similar hole!  Apparently, the palm tree that the hole we discovered once held was pulled out or somehow removed (no palm tree lay around that area) and left that perfect hole!

I call this “perfect irony”.  As we walked off and out of the trail, back onto the paved Grassy Key Trail, not far from our Jeep, we noticed this sign.  A fine time for a warning!!  LOL!!

Enjoy!

Taste of Acadia

The most popular way to see Acadia National Park is to drive the Park Loop Road.  We did that one of the days we visited the area around Acadia, and I want to share some snippets with you.  Just informationally, Acadia is split into 3 distinct areas – Park Loop Road on Mt. Desert Island, another island south of Mt. Desert Island, and Schoodic Peninsula.  We didn’t see the area south of Mt. Desert Island, and the Schoodic Peninsula will be covered in another post, but this one is devoted to the Park Loop Road.  Let’s get started!

Much of the Park Loop Road is driving along some lovely forested roads like this one.  I bet this looks amazing in the fall, but a lot of green looks lovely, too!

Driving on Park Loop Road

There is an area called Sieur de Monts Spring, where a spring flows and keeps plants and flowers there very well-watered.  Walking thru that area is like taking a walk thru a lovely, serene garden or small woods.  Not that many people (relatively speaking) were there – I guess most were looking for the big views of other areas.  I found this area a nice respite from the “maddening crowd” – LOL!

Fern Reflection

Lushness like this is not seen very often in our home state of New Mexico!  It was also nice to hear the gentle undercurrent of the creek gurgling thru all of this – fed by the spring, of course.

Fern Floor Forest

As we moved down the road, we saw this lighthouse, which sits just off shore.  Altho not as dramatic as those we saw in the Cape Elizabeth area, the red roof of the keepers’ residence made for a nice pop of color.  Interestingly the lighthouse got its name because it sits on Egg Rock.  In years past, settlers used to visit this tiny island (it’s much smaller than it appears in this image) to collect the eggs of sea birds that laid them there.  At one point, a couple of different varieties of sea birds almost went extinct due to this activity.  Needless to say, no egg gathering is currently allowed. 

Egg Rock Lighthouse

I’m not certain what the occasion was, but we did see a tall ship sailing in Frenchman Bay, not far from Egg Rock Lighthouse.  Again, I love the spot of color the sails lend to the scene, and how lovely it was to see such a magnificent sailing craft.

Tall Ship Sailing in Frenchman Bay

Next along the road was an area called Sand Beach.  The parking near the path heading down to the beach was very crowded, so we opted to just catch a glimpse of the beach thru the trees. I actually really liked this view of what was a nice, small beach. 

Sand Beach

As the road ran close to the edge of the island, around the area called Otter Cliffs, we were able to see a bit of the shoreline that I was hoping to get a view of that makes Acadia famous.   

View from Otter Cliffs

Heading inland, one spur of the Park Loop Road headed up Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the island.  About halfway up, this was the view, looking out over the land mass that makes up Acadia.  We are looking out over Eagle Lake.  I do like the way the sunlight is dappled, due to the puffy clouds overhead.  

Dappled Light – Cadillac Mountain View

At the top of Cadillac Mountain, looking off to the north, one can see the Cranberry Islands off shore.  These islands are named for the cranberry bogs that were once there.  The two largest islands are serviced by ferries and have people living on them year round.

Cranberry Islands from Cadillac Mountain

Looking off in the other direction allows you to see the tourist town of Bar Harbor and off that shore the Porcupine Islands.  During the French and Indian War (1754 -1763) French gunboats hid behind these islands to ambush the British vessels.  No such activity goes on now – just a cruise boat anchored off Bar Harbor on this day!  The island closest to shore (on the left side of this image) is called Bar Island, and during low tide, a sand bar appears, allowing people to walk across the small channel that separates it from Mt. Desert Island.  One just needs to be careful not to get stuck there when the tide comes in!

Bar Island off Bar Harbor

Enjoy!

Around the Cottage in Paradise

We saw many wonderful and beautiful sights in Maui, and as I would sit on the lanai, or walk the grounds around the cottage, there were some lovely sights right in our backyard….or not far from it!

We would see some wildlife right off the lanai.  One was an egret that seemed to visit the front yard fairly regularly, and the other was an interesting looking red-headed bird. I looked it up and it was a red-headed cardinal, whose body was mostly blue!

Cardinal and Egret

Every so often, we’d hear an incredible racket that was clearly made by some animal, and at first, I thought some larger creature would cause it.  Then, one morning, I was standing at the door to the lanai, and found out it was these two birds!  The one on the lower right in this image might be a robin, and the one on the upper right is a kolea, or golden plover.  This little bird flies over 2500 miles nonstop to Alaska every year for the summer, and then returns to Hawaii after mating.  Some actually then continue to fly another 2500 miles to Samoa and other South Pacific islands.  I guess when one does that type of travel each year, one can make as much noise as one likes!

Quite the Noisy Pair

We also saw geckos around the cottage a lot!  Now, that might freak some folks out, but I happen to think they are really cute!  Besides, they are always busy keeping the bug population down!  We never knew where they hid, tho, as they seemed to just disappear when we’d look away for a minute.  Once, we managed to catch this little guy making off into his hiding place!

Gecko Hidey Hole

There were some beautiful blooming trees and plants around the cottage as well.  One tree that served as a wonderful privacy fence between our cottage and the home of the property owners produced these beautiful blooms.  I’m thinking they are hyacinths, but I’m not sure.  What I am sure of is that they made the most beautiful privacy barrier that I’ve ever seen!

Luscious Bloom

I’m not certain if this particular type of day lily is only found in Hawaii, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this color in any day lily I’ve seen on the mainland!  I was very glad I captured this image when I did.  A few days later, a heavy (altho brief) rainstorm really battered these flowers, and they never looked as good as they did when I got this shot.

Hawaiian Day Lily

There were also small bushes that grew oranges, I think.  They never got ripe enough for me to be absolutely certain, but as time wore on, they seemed to be turning orange. This image, tho, was taken early in our visit, when the color was more of a yellow-green.  I just loved the perfection of nature.

Perfect

This bloom reminded me a lot of a variation of water lily….except it was attached to a shrub or bush that most definitely was not in water!  The impossibly bright pink color is the actual color of this bloom – no adjustment done by me!

Impossibly Bright

I also loved the way the light would play thru the leaves of some of the shrubs around the cottage.  It made the leaves on this bush seem almost translucent.

Lines and Shades

Even when the leaves were beginning to dry out, they offered some pretty color contrast that just winked at me until I took their picture!

Green and Gold Leaves

There were a couple of these interesting trees on the far side of our cottage.  Their leaves – or blooms – I’m not certain which – were strings of what looked like tiny green pearls.  Of course, they weren’t pearls, but they certainly looked like that.  And, these sort of blooming pods just seemed to erupt from all around the tree.  I’ve never seen anything like this before!

Interesting Tree

And, finally, one morning, after a shower, as I wandered about, I noticed this raindrop just hanging onto the very tip of a long slender leaf.  It wasn’t until after I processed the image that I realized I was reflected in the raindrop!!  I don’t know if you can make me out in this small sized image, so you may just need to take my word for it!

Raindrop

Enjoy!

Hana Road Waterfalls

One of the things that the Road to Hana is known for are the waterfalls – some easily visible, some a bit of a trek into the woods, and others totally hidden, and unavailable to me!  As you’ll see from this long post, altho some may be hidden, there are plenty   that are easily visible!

The first waterfall we saw required a bit of a trek into the woods.  If it hadn’t been described in the travel book I had, I would have totally missed this one.  It wasn’t very large, but it was a very sweet start to the waterfall show.

Peeking at Haipua’ena Falls

The next set of falls was along the road, but easy to miss because the falls face parallel to the road, and not toward the road.  The Hawaiian name of the falls is Waikani, but the other name is 3 Bears Falls.  I’ve seen this waterfall when the water is flowing heavily, and the 3 bears become one very large bear!  I think that in this case, less is most definitely more – the 3 delicate falls are just so lovely.  Also, if you look toward the ride side of the image, you’ll see a splash.  It almost looks like the start of a 4^th bear!

Waikani – 3 Bears & a Splash

The next waterfall is the Hanawi Falls.  The interesting thing about this waterfall is that you can stand on the bridge, and look directly down on the falls as they crash over the edge into a small pool below.   The sunlight plays so pretty over the water in that pool, too.  Such pretty blue green color, and the water is incredibly clear.

Hanawi Falls on Hana Highway

I don’t know the name of this waterfall, but it was almost hidden and easy to miss as you drive along the road.  Jeff paid attention to the curves in the road, and I was responsible for spotting the waterfalls!  I had to walk back along the road across the bridge, and really sort of seek out the waterfall as it was sort of around an edge of the woods.  In this image, I slowed down the shutter speed so you can get an idea of how smoothly the water flowed over the various rocks along the way down.

Almost Hidden Waterfall on Hana Highway

Here’s another slow-motion waterfall shot.  I especially love the way the water flows on the bottom of the falls – just cascading gently over all the layers of rocks.

Grace on the Hana Highway

Here’s another waterfall that was hidden away – no, I didn’t have to walk thru the woods to get to it, but I did have to look closely into the woods, because it was hidden away in the darkness of the woods.  I love the slow gentle cascade flow of this very small, and very elegant waterfall.

Hidden Waterfall

This waterfall is the same one that I shared on my Facebook tease.  I love the way the waterfall is so gentle that it seems to almost disappear as it flows over the rocks.  From the tease, when you can see people at the base, this is a very tall waterfall. 

Waimoku Falls

Enjoy!

Views on the Road to Hana

One day, we decided to drive the loop around Maui that included the Road to Hana.  This road is a popular one for tourists, altho some get a bit unnerved by all the twists & turns on the way to Hana!  There are so many sights, this blog will be focusing on the beautiful scenery, that also include some wonderfully moss covered bridges.  There will be more sights to share in future posts as well.

One of the things that is so wonderful about this road are the beautiful sights.  As the road twists and turns, fabulous views keep peeking in and out.  And frequently along the roadside, there are bushes with beautifully brilliantly orange colored blooms.

View from the Hana Highway

Maui is a tropical island, and as such, it’s very warm and humid – perfect conditions for moss.  And, where is the moss most visible?  On the bridges that bridge many, many creeks and brooks the originate somewhere with a waterfall.  And, as I looked at many bridges, it just seems like they are creating their own form of art.

Bridges on the Road to Hana

And, here are some of those creeks and brooks!  They are just so happy looking – there’s really no other word for it.  As I looked at them, I just had to smile.  All the green surrounding the rushing water, made each little scene look so much more lush than seems possible.

Brooks and Creeks

As I walked along the roadside to photograph the brooks, creeks, scenes and waterfalls, there were also lots of small flowers that kept peeking up at me!  Here are a couple that always seemed to appear when I sometimes least expected them!!

Road of Blooms

Finally, let me leave you with this view from both sides – one side shows more of a babbling brook – the other shows us how the flow got gentler as it made its way to the open ocean.

Two Sides of the Road

Enjoy!