October 15th, 2021

Joy is Back!  Woohoo!   So of course, today's post will be our first hike in awhile.  In honour of the occasion, I will call this one, the Joy is Back Photo Safari Report!

For our first foray back onto the trails, we decided to revisit Oscar Scherer State Park. We got there before it opened and had to circle a few times 'til the gate was unlocked. It's a timing thing.  Part of the reason we like to start our hikes early is the lighting.  Early morning hikes offer some really pretty early morning shots like this:

Another reason we like to hike the trails early is that there are far fewer people. We don't like to hike in a crowd.  But mostly it's because that's when the birdies are active.  If you want photos of birds, the best times are early in the day or late in the day. The coolest bird we saw was a bald eagle way in the tippy top of a tree in the distance. But still very clearly an eagle.  This is the time of year when they return to reclaim their territory.  Joy was the "eagle eye" who spotted it:

We found some interesting bugs as well.  Some familiar, some very very very Unfamiliar!  As in ..."what on earth is this?" which is almost always followed by, "How cool!"  :

Do I even have to mention all the pretty flowers that are blooming now that the worst of the heat is gone?

There were squirrels and bunnies a plenty too, all keeping a careful eye on us.  In fact, there was one trail that we opted to not traverse specifically so that we would not disturb the rabbit.  We try to be thoughtful:

I'll finish up with my favourite category.....the rando files:

Well I guess that's the highlights from the Joy is Back Photo Safari.   We will be back out there, somewhere, cameras in hang, next week. Which means I will have another Photo Safari Report for you next week!

Have a GREAT weekend!