29: The pond and the woolly bear

(Peering through the grasses and shrubs.)

Part four of our epic hike at Holden Arboretum.  Don’t worry.  It will end soon.  😀

When we arrived at the top of the small hill where we had our picnic lunch we noticed a small pond hidden amongst the grasses and shrubs.  It is a pretty little pond, much smaller than ours.

(Finding the pond.)

I was surprised to see that there were still some flowers blooming, flowers that have dried up in our area.  Perhaps the lake effect cloud cover keeps it a little warmer there.

(Pond and asters.)

(Reflections.)

After our picnic we sat for a while, enjoying the place, the day, and the beautiful weather.  A woolly bear wandered over to visit with us.

(Woolly bear.)

Long-time visitors to this blog and Bountiful Healing may remember that I seek out and photograph woolly bears every year.  For those interested:

• 2008
• 2008 update
• 2009

The woolly bear that joined us after our picnic seems to think winter will be mild this year.  I haven’t seen any others around our property although M says there are plenty of them out there.  It will be interesting to see if our woolly bears agree with the Holden Arboretum woolly bear.  Past experience has shown that the woolly bears are about as accurate as other weather forecasters.  Take that as you will.

Today’s Walk

I went out for what was supposed to be 30 minutes and ended up staying out there for almost 2 hours.  I completely lost track of time while absorbed in the play of light and shadows.  I love the light this time of year.  It’s warm, colorful, and sometimes playful as the sunlight darts in and out of the clouds and the canopy of leaves on the trees in the woods.

(Light and shadows in the woods.)

It’s another beautiful, invigorating, fall day with a deep blue sky.  It is windy, brisk, and cool.  The gusty wind has the leaves flying off the trees and dancing in the air before landing on the ground or the pond.  While back near the woods I was showered with leaves which prompted me to do a little dance in celebration of the season.  I suppose it’s a good thing that there was no one around to see me.

(Light, shadow, and leaves.)

The birds are pretty active today, too.  A killdeer came flying by, followed by a murder of crows.  (Sorry, J.  No parliament of owls, kit of pigeons, bevy of quail, or mischief of rats.  They may all be out there but I didn’t see them.)  Buzzards circled around over the woods, bluejays jeered, and a wide variety of little birds flitted about.

(Crow in flight.)

That’s about it from the Bogs for now.  Don’t forget to stop by tomorrow for my 30th day surprise.

(Today’s view of the pond.)