January 13th, 2017

That dark upside-down triangle in the funky Suessian looking tree is an American Bald Eagle's  nest.  How cool is that?  Last Sunday, my feet were wanting to move!  I was in the mood to hike. So Tim, tolerant man that he is, took us to Oscar Scherer State Park.  It's close by and has over 15 miles of hiking trails. Awesome.  The first trail I chose, a little 3-mile jaunt, actually had a portion of it closed off when we were there as a buffer for these nests.  This was as close as we could get. But still, Very Cool.   I understand why they do it, though it was disappointing to not be able to be closer.  The birds deserve their safety and privacy and you know if left to our own behavior, there would be some moron with a slingshot.  We actually saw one eagle, soaring high above us,  wings spread out catching one wind wave after another.  Probably waiting for us to leave to he could go home.

This was our first trip to Oscar Scherer but it won't be our last.  It's not a huge park, but it's very nice.  There are 10 different hiking trails, places to canoe and kayak and there is a campground too.  There is a very cute little Interpretive Exhibit at the visitors center and nice clean bathrooms.   They even have Geo-Seeking tours!  A small beach with a beware of alligator sign (?) that was a little alarming, a butterfly garden and loads of wildlife viewing are all part and parcel of the goodies that await visitors.  The Legacy Trail, runs right through the middle of it. It's a goal of mine to bike to and then through this park on the Legacy Trail. Haven't managed it yet.  When I get close, I kind of poop out. The thing about biking is, yes it's only about 12 miles to bike there, but then, I still have to bike back.  But, by golly, some day I'll do it.

Naturally, I chose a poor wildlife viewing day to go. Other than that one loan eagle, we saw nothing, not even many other people. It was very cold and windy with grey skies and any self-respecting amadillo or deer was hunkered down someplace relatively warm waiting it out.  So I'm sorry we missed that. There are some endangered species, such as scrub jays and gopher tortoises that live there too.  We will definitely have to go back. Heck we only did 2 of the trails before we had to go home and warm up with hot cocoa!  There are loads of things left for us to do there on other visits.

It was different hiking on level ground, I will say that.  I have been more accustomed to hiking in the mountains of Colorado.  Hiking in an area where you aren't out of breath and your butt doesn't ache from climbing almost feels like cheating.  On the other hand, it felt really good to stretch different muscles from the biking ones that I usually do. And I will  just say that is was so very nice to walk in such a pretty place. Just a completely different kind of pretty.

I have no idea what we will be doing this weekend, but I'm sure I'll be writing about next week.  Don't worry about today being a Friday the 13th.  My sister was born on a Friday the 13th, and she is one of the best things ever to happen to me.   It's all good. Go forth and have a great weekend!