Winding up the Holiday

Posted November 26, 2018 by Laurel Wanrow in My non-writing life, Nature / 0 Comments

Cold weather and sunny, it’s been a good week with lots of nature walks. However, I’d be remiss if I didn’t start this post by announcing that for just a few more hours, The Witch of the Meadows is on .99 sale!

There, done!

This week’s longer, daily walks to different open space areas were mostly due to our company…who came with a dog. Moby might be small, but a Norwich Terrier is an active dog, so we got out every day for a longer-than-normal walk, and the trips came with lots to share.

In the neighborhood we always spot birds (though they are harder to photograph!) in the stream valleys, especially around a group of cyprus trees.

I keep a watchful eye on the ground, having suffered many sprained ankles, and often spot treasures.

Once, it was the leaves moving–and not by wind!

Do you see the cause in the last photo? If you didn’t…

We were grateful this walking stick was moving. It would have been sad to step on so large of an insect–nearly 5 inches long!

Our ‘Opt-Outside’ Friday trip was to Great Falls National Park. Due to recent rains, the Potomac River waters obscured the falls.At the overlook we viewed cedar waxwings feeding, backlit, but the yellow ‘wax’ tips on the tail were stunning.

And in the distance, that black dot with the white head?

A bald eagle! (Another visitor let me borrow his zoom for a shot, though I was nervous trying out the lens, so this isn’t super sharp.)

Great Falls Park hosts American Beech trees–my favorite tree.

Poking along the old canal lock ruins is fun.

Spleenwort fern with liverwort hidden under its fronds.

Good hikes, and we definitely needed them after hours of working on my new website that my visiting relative is putting together for me.  (Look for an announcement soon!)

Hope you also shared a relaxing holiday with people you love!

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