July 22nd, 2020

Joy and I once again braved the elements and set out upon the trails at Sleeping Turtle Preserve. FYI I have never once seen a turtle there. I suppose it's because they are all sleeping?

As per usual for summer hikes, we left in the wee hours.  The sun hadn't cleared the tree tops yet and the sky was still dark blue.  Because it had rained heavily the night before everything was wet and in very short order, our shoes were squishy and our white socks, grey.

But there is something so very special about that early morning light.  At every turn, every twist of the trail we would find ourselves gasping in delight and then trying to capture with the camera eye what we saw with our real eyes.  It never seems to come out quite the same way.

The temperatures through the entire 3 and a half miles of wandering through the forest were so much kinder than is usual for this time of year.   For a change at no point were we wiping drips of sweat out of our eyes or looking for the shady spots to gulp water from the thermos to stave off dehydration.  An unexpected but very welcome surprise.

It was probably that even nicer than usual weather that kept us out there roaming and snapping and chatting for more than four hours.  Of course the fact that we tend to choose our trails so randomly that there is no discernible pattern at all which means it's very easy to get turned around (and around and around) could have something to do with it as well.  

It's of no consequence anyway. While we might occasionally become temporarily misplaced, we have never yet actually gotten lost.  At some point, we always find our way back.  

Four hours for less than 4 miles sounds as if we are walking really slowly doesn't it.  Well in truth we do.  If you walk to quickly, you could miss things. Especially the small things.

We heard so many birds. So Many Birds.  Saw only a few.  Joy got a lot more bird photos (and far better ones) than I did. But I managed to get couple.  And a couple of random bugs.   Oh and some lizards too.  But then, they seem to like to pose.  The best butterfly shot started this post.

As always my favourite category, the miscellaneous photos are up next:

Well I reckon I need to go bleach my socks now if there is any hope of me every wearing them again.  Hope you enjoyed coming along on our photo safari!   Have a wonderful day!