Well hello there! I know I slacked off and didn't post on Friday but that's because Joy and I did a photo safari! Woohoo! Our Friday hike was just after the big Tropical Storm and we knew the preserves would be too wet and mucky even for us, and we are fairly intrepid. So we decided to do the Caspersen Beach Trail instead. I will take wet sand over boggy mud any day. As we suspected, there was a lot of deadfall. Not just fronds and branches but full trees down. Wow. We did have to do a little bit of slogging through wet in low spots and clambering over downed trees here and there but we are up to the task. And we found some unusual and interesting things that the storm washed ashore. Things like lumber and buoys and concrete blocks! Not things you normally see on a nature hike But we also saw some amazing things! Like for instance, more spiderwebs than I think we've seen before. Was there something about the storm that kicked them all into overdrive? Or maybe it was just the way the sun hit the dew covered webs that made us notice them and they've been there all along? I have no idea. Get ready for more photos of spider webs than you ever wanted to see: Some of the secondary trails lead to the beach and we do not like to leave any trail unhiked. So often, we left the primary trail and spent a little time on the beach. There is never a problem watching the water and the seabirds. And this time we found some pretty great driftwood and a few crabs scuttling along too. By far the most surprising thing that we saw on this hike were tortoises. Lots of them. We must have seen a dozen at least. Our best guess is that their homes got flooded in the storm forcing them up and out. While I'm sorry about the damage to their little houses, it was a delight to see so many of them. Some were on the sides of the trails but many of them were just slowly plodding along the same trails that we were hiking. Most of them didn't seem to care one way or the other about us, but one of them dived right back into his hole at the first glimpse of us. I had no idea we were so frightening! Yes we take photos of them, but from a respectful distance, I promise! We did see some other creatures worth noting, although very few of them were birds this time. No idea where they were all hiding that day. There were not a lot of flowers either. I presume that the storm destroyed a lot of them. But there were a few survivors. A little bedraggled but still alive! And, now that I think about it, these aren't just photos of flowers, there are leaves, flowers and berries. So I guess that's pretty much it for the photo safari report. Oh wait! There was also this awesome rock that I found. But I'll save that story for another day.
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AuthorYup, this is me. Some people said, "Sam, you should write a Blog". "Well, there's a thought", I thought to myself. And so here it is. Archives
February 2025
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