A hike around Glass Creek

Lake by which I passed

The snow returned this morning, blanketing the ground in white.  But yesterday, before the clouds returned (they weren't gone that long as it rained yesterday morning), I went out for a walk at a nearby preserve.  I needed the space and the time alone, plus it gave me a chance to check out Glass Creek, which is supposed to be a good trout stream.  With the season opening in less than two weeks, it’s time to begin to think about getting out my waders and getting into the water and tormenting some fish.

Skunk Cabbage

 I headed out on a windy evening, an hour and a half before sunset.  Not long into my walk, I spooked a couple of deer, who made a racket snapping twigs as they jumped and ran away.  I hiked over two ridges and by a decent-size lake before dropping into the creek. I found its bottom to be mostly sandy with deep holes around every bend.  To the south of where I intersected the creek, it appears to spread out into a marsh area.  Hiking a ways down, I came across skunk cabbage, its leaves now fully unfurled.  Then I hiked back upstream where the creek ran deep, between ridges.  I crossed the creek on a small wooden bridge and, before climbing the ridge on the far side, stopped to see if I could find the woodpecker working high in the trees above.  I didn’t see him, but could hear his sound against the hollow tree for some distance.  On the ridge, maybe 20 or 30 feet above the creek, there was a nice stand of timber, some of it thicker than my grasp and all of it straight:  maples, oaks and beech.  On the path in front of me, I disturbed a pair of cardinals flirting with each other.  As I came around the bend, they took to the sky.  After a ways, I dropped back down to the creek, through cedars that grew along the bank.  In the distance, I heard the cry of a sandhill crane and later, as the sun dropped below the horizon, an owl.     By the time I got back to my truck, the sun had disappeared and there was a chill in air.

Large and straight hardwoods along the ridge

Cedar along banks

The sun dropping in the sky

I should note that in my recent post, I haven't been using my main camera (a Nikon DSLR).  Instead, I've been trying out a Fujifilm XP (water/shock/dust and freeze proof...  yeah, right) camera.  It's lightweight and pocket size (keeps me from looking too much like a tourist).  I am considering using it this summer when I travel.  It's harder to use and the lens isn't a Nikkor, but I am impressed with its photos.

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