The monkey and I exchanged our candy filled thoughts of love this morning and snuggled up with lots of "I love you's!" before starting our day. I have to admit, as long as it's just the two of us he's still willing to put up a huge show of affection for an eight year old. We had already made plans last night to hike the Eastern Trail in Scarborough (a favorite old standby) so it was just a matter of letting the temperature rise a little before heading out.
We chose this trail for several reasons:
The first notable sighting were 6 deer high-tailling it (no pun intended) across the marsh, tails held high and booking it like they were being chased. They weren't, but you would have thought so. It's not funny, but they were moving so fast they would just drop into the tidal pools unforseen due most likely to the grass and have to slosh their way back out. It wasn't like one would fall and the others would say "Oh, I should go around that hole", you could anticipate them dropping in one at a time and I have to admit - I laughed out loud. They ended up having to swim across the tidal water to the other side, then took off for the woods. We ran into a couple a few minutes later who told us there were seven that had originally crossed over that we must have just missed. I can't imagine how cold of a trip that must have been, there had to have been a pretty darn good reason for making it!
We chose this trail for several reasons:
- It's not far from the house, about a 30 minute drive
- Considering the illness I've been subjected to, it was a nice hike that we could quickly abort if needed
- It would provide some good birding opportunities
- The monkey could break in his new backpack
- We could walk off a few of those chocolates we put to us in the morning
The first notable sighting were 6 deer high-tailling it (no pun intended) across the marsh, tails held high and booking it like they were being chased. They weren't, but you would have thought so. It's not funny, but they were moving so fast they would just drop into the tidal pools unforseen due most likely to the grass and have to slosh their way back out. It wasn't like one would fall and the others would say "Oh, I should go around that hole", you could anticipate them dropping in one at a time and I have to admit - I laughed out loud. They ended up having to swim across the tidal water to the other side, then took off for the woods. We ran into a couple a few minutes later who told us there were seven that had originally crossed over that we must have just missed. I can't imagine how cold of a trip that must have been, there had to have been a pretty darn good reason for making it!
Next time, I get to pick which way we cross!
After that excitement, we saw the regulars - Black Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Loons, Canadian Geese, a few Mallards, Herring Gulls, Crows and an immature Bald Eagle. The trail itself if free of all snow and getting a little gushie in places (that means you might get your shoes dirty if you step in the wrong place, in case you were wondering) but for the most part is great considering it's only the middle of February. We enjoyed ourselves quite a bit and managed to make it a little over a mile round trip. It felt good just to be out of the house. Below are some photos cronicalling our journey, please enjoy!
Female Common Goldeneye
Common Loon, already showing the bars of it's summer coat
He just had to see how cold the water was - with the new backpack
Driftwood
An American Black Duck didn't like how close we were getting
Notice his beautiful blue wing striping
Mrs. Black didn't even care
Here we are, the motley crew. Gosh, I look terrible!
Contemplating - jerky in hand.
Boy finds tree
The tide was so high!
Reflection
Break time
The trail is absolutely clear
In case you were wondering how the brige was built
Ahh, how much longer until spring?
Herring Gull
Black Ducks feeding
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