~ sunday hike: mcdowell nature preserve ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, we decided to take our Sunday Hike on Saturday,

and I decided I didn't feel like posting it until Wednesday.

We hiked the Shady Hollow Trail at McDowell Nature Preserve,

and then connected with the Cove Trail, 

for a nice, long (for kids) hike.

We found some of the first Spring ephemeral wildflowers!

I could go on and on about these, 

but I think I'll save botanical stuff for a separate post.  

Maybe I'll even get an in-focus picture of these little beauties, eh? 

Daddy knocks on this hollowed out tree to see if anyone is home.

It looks like the perfect flying squirrel residence, but we didn't see anyone.

Dead standing trees, called snags, are a very important part of the ecosystem.

Winter allows you to gaze through the forest.

This forest is not that old, 

but the fact that it isn't choked with saplings and invasive species is a good thing.

We come down the hill and walk along the shore of Lake Wylie for the rest of the hike.

Lela and Liv ran ahead, while Laurel took her time to poke among the stumps at the water's edge.

We pause to play and explore in a little cove.

Lela has found a catkin of some sort, washed up on the shore.

It was a bit more of a reddish color than this picture shows.

Many different trees produce flowers like these, and they're a lot of fun to play with!

In the little cove, the banks are steep and covered with beautiful mosses and lichens.

Their forms are exquisite and near-endless in variation. 

Below, little reproductive stalks lift the moss spores above the fray. 

Mosses have an other-worldly quality, at least to me.

I get my nose as close down to them as eyesight will allow,

and notice spider silk floating over what I imagine are tiny trails and burrows.

I feel as if I could stare at it for hours, 

gently probing,

and feel certain a little faery would poke her head up.

The mosses and lichens crowd each other, 

growing as closely to one another as they can.

Lichens are a fungus and an algae, growing together for mutual gain.

I imagine that their cooperative spirit is contagious, 

and the resulting neighborhood is friendly and helpful.

Maybe this little lichen sends up its little spore stalk (the cup-like object near the middle)

that can also double as a bird-bath for tiny faery-birds.

I can definitely see little pixies lounging around this acorn cap hot tub!

I have to move on from my magical macro world,

and unscrunch my back and legs.

Zelda is always watchful, and keeps her eyes on the girls.

She's just about the best dog in the world!

Laurel finds more spring wildflowers!

  A beaver scent mound marks territory....we're getting close to their dams! 

  

About the point on our hike, I ripped the end of my toe badly with a stick.

My eagerness to wear my Chacos on this warm afternoon.......

Walking around in a bloody sandal (yuck) 

meant that I missed taking pictures of the vast beaver activity along the creek.

Another post.....

Even more spring ephemerals!

I will be sharing more about these beauties soon.

  

 We rounded off our hike with a few minutes of creek exploration.....

 ......and grapevine swinging!

This is such a great park! 

If you're in the Charlotte area, you should definitely visit McDowell Nature Preserve!

~carrie~

~ sunday hike ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pictures courtesy of my smartphone!

On Sundays, we make time to stretch our legs outside.

Today, we walked the Persimmon Trail at our local botanical gardens.

We heard our first frogs of the year!

Daddy shows the girls how to cup their ears to gather more sound.

The ground was still damp from rain the night before.

The late Winter and early Spring rains bring out amphibians of all kinds.

We walked slowly down the trail,

creeping toward the sound of frogs in the creek.

The wet leaves were quiet under our feet.

Those frogs are so smart!

As soon as one spots us, he quiets down.

His neighbor notices that he's not singing,

so he quiets down too.

The silence makes its way down the creek,

until the frogs seem far off again.

Walking along the edge, 

frogs are invisible right before your eyes! 

We leave the trail, and walk along the edge.

 A thicket of invasive Elaeagnus ahead provides cover along the creek,

and the chorus is loudest there.

We leave the camera and backpack behind,

and crouch down

weaving our way through the dense undergrowth.

Behind a large sycamore tree,

we can just see the large still pool.

The sound of the frogs, several different species,

is so loud in our ears it is no necessary to amplify it at all.

We all sit there in the dampness, struck by the amazing sounds.

It seems as if the frogs are just under our feet,

and I close my eyes to focus on individuals.

I am breathing the sound.

Overhead, a chickadee makes conversation.

The minutes of magic have passed,

the girls are restless, 

though Mike and I could have sat there the rest of the day.

The three of them walk slowly forward,

less and less cautious as they peacefully jostle for position of the leader.

For a moment, I think that the frogs may not notice them, 

but then suddenly - - - silence.

Three blonde heads whip around toward us.

A single frog continues to sing just near Mike.

Then he realizes he's the only one, and then everything is silent around us.

The mood instantly shifts from quiet reverence and awe

to playful exploration. 

We make our way out of the thicket,

and back on the trail.

~carrie~

~ walking together ~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a blog h.i.a.t.u.s (Help I Am Truly Under Stress)

I believe I may be read7 to semi-regularly share here.

Maybe.

In any case, I did feel the desire to document our family hike after New Years'.

We ventured a few miles away to this Carolina Thread Trail access, 

right along the Catawba River.

Everyone marveled at the I-85 bridge over the Catawba.

The children *despise* when we get on I-85, because it means at least 30 minutes in the car.

But they have a new appreciation for this bridge when we are driving now.

Even though it was jump-able by all, it feels special to have your Daddy help you over a little ditch.

This railroad trestle was so beautiful to me. 

There were many very large wild grapevines along the river, and this nice one provided a perfect seat.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity to take some pictures.

It is difficult to get a 'perfect' shot of so many little ones, 

but I think I like this better.

More grapevines, where the girls had fun pretending to be bobcats.

Our littlest is a firecracker.

These can be 'positive' or 'negative', and explosions can happen unexpectedly last a while.

Today was such a day for a not-so-fun show.

But there's a sweet finale in the very important reconnection. 

The past year has been a challenging one for me personally, 

plagued by frequent panic attacks and constant anxiety.

I cannot say that they are behind me, but I'm feeling hopeful that some positive progress is happening.

There's a palpable feeling in our family that there has been a shift toward something more beautiful.

Happy New Year.

~carrie~