August 17th, 2022

We did it!  First photo safari in far too long.  (in case you are unsure, that's me on the left in the green shirt and Joy on the right with the white hat)

It was not a long hike, not more than about 90 minutes but that was plenty long enough for the first foray.  We left early enough that while the temps were certainly warmish, the full on heat/humidity/rain hadn't yet kicked in.  Nice.  And as a bonus, we were the only ones out there and that is always nice.  It was quiet and peaceful and beautiful and we saw some amazing things.

First of all, when you leave early there are early morning sun photos to be had.

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And since it's relatively cool out at that time of day, there are dew drops and leftover raindrops here and there:

And the trails were lush from our daily rain storms so the greens were deep and dark and the vegetation abundant and flourishing:

In fact, the creek had overflowed and prevented us from crossing to the second part of the preserve, but that's ok.  I think for the first time back out there, half the preserve was plenty.  The river was still and dark and quiet and provided some absolutely perfect reflections:

We were lucky enough to capture a little bit of wildlife. My favourite, and the most unique (for me anyway) was the armadillo.  Those buggers move fast and as it zoomed through the underbrush, I tried so hard to get a clear shot without upsetting the animal.  It's an odd angle, but it's clear and clearly an armadillo:

Unusual for me, there were some fungi that I just couldn't resist snapping photos of:
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There were a surprising number of lovely botanicals considering how late in the summer it is right now.  Perhaps the cool, green shadowy forest is just a better place for flowers?

I'd say, for a short hike and the first one in months, we did okay.  It was fun, I was shocked at how "heavy" my camera is, and once I got home and cleaned up , I absolutely had a little nap.  But I'd say the photo Safari was a rousing success!

Hopefully there will be more to come as the weeks go by!