My SLR, two rolls of film, spare batteries, and I set off for the wooded area near our subdivision. It's mostly a thin strip of trees between backyards and a busy road. Since I tend to traipse no matter where I live, I'd already been back there several times. Last summer, I found an entire army of wild blackberries.
This time I went farther than I had before, and was richly rewarded. I found beautiful, deserted areas of woods with leaf litter so deep that I sunk in with each step. Although it had rained, the leaves and needles were so thick that when I sat on the ground, I stayed dry. I found lots of the small wonders that I usually photograph, like pinecones, flowers, and birds. The bugs were scarce, since it was so early in the season.
I broke the boundaries of the "known" and hiked off into the unknown. I got some shots of chickadees who were too mad at me to fly away - they must have had a nest nearby. I found old evidence of carnage -- piles of fur and a skull gnawed beyond recognition. I walked on and suddenly an owl lifted itself through the canopy, circled, and flew off. I think it was a Barred Owl. The only other time I've seen a wild owl was when my dad nearly hit one with the rental car while we were driving at 3am in Washington State. I saw a creek fall into an underground sinkhole and flow out 10 yards further down. I saw anthills as big as a burn barrel. I knew there were snakes around here, but I'd never seen one until today. It shook its rattleless tail at me for a few seconds before slithering into a hole in the ground. A sampling of what I saw, courtesy of Google Images:
I did get a few nice photos, but most of the beauty of the trip was in the experiences. Being outside, getting lost in nature within a mile of your house, losing 3 hours in an instant, watching birds' courtship. Seeing the things I'd never seen before.
There's beauty everywhere. It's right under our noses, but we rarely see it.
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