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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Nature Notes: Photo walking at the end of August


I haven't been walking as much as I like to this summer because the heat has hit me hard this year. After a morning rain I realized it was fairly pleasant and might be a good chance for a late August walk at Shelley Lake.
natnote trlgr
I do enjoy the green and shade which comes with summer and helps somewhat with the heat. A swallowtail butterfly joined me on the path down to the water where I wanted to check out how the ducks and geese were doing.
natnote butterfly
For some reason most times of the year there is usually only one white duck or maybe two that hang out with the other ducks and geese. I noted that there were three swimming together on this August day.
natnote ducks
There were a lot of geese and mallard ducks as usual but I noticed that they don't make as much noise this time of year as they do other times, particularly during the spring. I know the loud times are probably partly about mating and babies and such.
natnote geessnd
I've never seen so much growth on the sand bars where the geese and ducks congregate and during the winter where the gulls arrive. The great blue herons were hanging out on these bars a lot during the spring.
natnote fllsndb
The grass often starts growing on the sandbars in the spring but I can't remember them having a lot of wildflowers like they do this year.
NatNot geesefl
I miss the wildlife when I'm not walking at the lake as much. Usually I manage to get up early enough for some summer walking but this year I have probably done the least amount of walking ever.
natnote dckscrt
I am happy to see that it will be slightly cooler this week and in between rain showers I should be able to walk more.
natnote dckslg
Even short walks on shaded paths would be better than nothing. Soon the tree will be changing over to their brilliant colors but green is also very pleasant.
natnote denstr
By Thursday morning the new nature notes link goes up at Rambling Woods, the host of this theme.

12 comments:

Squirrel said...

Glad to hear you're getting a bit of relief from the heat so you can enjoy the outdoors a bit more. Wonderful photos as always!

Cezar and Léia said...

Thanks for taking me with you in this beautiful walking, I've enjoyed every detail and the last shot will be inside my heart all day long, as I'm enchanted by this passage and all dreams along the way!
Hugs
Léia :)

Caron said...

Love the little guy who is sleeping. Also? Envious. :)

Linda said...

I love walking near water—whether it's a lake , pond or ocean. Your photos are beautiful and really capture the setting.

kenju said...

Great photos!! Maybe you have noticed that white one that is always with two regular geese on the side of the lake at Sawmill Road?

Would you belive I have never walked at Shelley Lake?

NicoleB said...

It's such a pleasant piece of nature where you live :)
I love that lush green and feel your pain about the heat.
I just walked 45 minutes through sand and dust and it started getting sweltering again. We are in for another hot one :(
Can't wait for this to be over and winter to come, even if that means more dust.
The birds here are very quiet on some days. Maybe it has something to do with the heat?

DeniseinVA said...

A lovely walk you took us on here. The heat has been oppressive this summer, hard for me too. I love to seek out those shaded walks where the trees make a great canopy and wonderful cooling shade. Marvelous photos!

EG CameraGirl said...

I have seen tons of geese this year but only a few ducks, or so it seems. And I have seen NO swallowtails! So I am jealous one actually accompanied you on your walk. :)

Annie said...

I haven't been walking as much either - this heat has taken away all my energy and motivation! These are lovely photos. Here's to cooler weather soon...

Rambling Woods said...

It has been a hot and humid summer. I am glad you were able to get out for a walk. I love that you were able to get some the ducks with the males molting back into their breeding colors...soon there were be noise with the mallard displays and pairings before the winter season...But you are right, most noise is during the breeding season and mostly about territory....Michelle

KaHolly said...

Quite a lovely walk. You can make up for lost time when the weather cools down a bit. Who knows, maybe you'll discover some things about fall that you never noticed before? ~karen

Allthingsfoodie said...

Thanks for the beautiful walking tour! Good capture of the butterfly. It's hard to get them without chasing them all over.