November walk in the Woods...............

Today is Saturday November 5th. I could not believe what a wonderful day it was again. What a great Autumn it has been so far this year. I was going to do so much in the house today, and get started on my sewing and other things but I could not stand to loose out on such a wonderful day. So Laura and Reina came over and we went for a walk in the woods. We went to the park so the kids could play on the swings after our hike. We began by hiking off onto the nearby trails and into the woods.



Gerry seemed to think it was cold but once we got into the trees the coats and hats came off. Reina and Tristen were oblivious to the nip in the air.



By the time we had gone up and down a few hills Laura and I were taking off coats and Tristen dumped his hat. The trail we chose goes past two ponds. I think they have names but I don't know what the names are. Anyway, this family of ducks were preening on this pond.





We passed on by without disturbing them and went to take a look at the other larger pond. This little chap was busy. A small red squirrel.



Then we walked for awhile besides the other pond in the hope of seeing some bird life. We saw this cute little nest that was now empty and abandoned. What a work of art it is, I would have taken it home but decided it looked nice where it was and maybe someone may use it again next year.



Here are the boys looking out over the lake/pond. It was about that time that Gerry swallowed a bug and we were laughing so hard at the fuss he was making. I didn't get a good picture or I would have put it on Facebook.



Back into the woods for a little way up the trail and then we heard the cows in the fields across the pond. There is a farm there where I used to get Lady's hay. The cows were enjoying some time in the fields and talking to each other in the afternoon sun.







We came back out by the lake/pond again and low and behold .......Sandhill Cranes.
The edge of the pond was still frozen from this mornings cold beginnings.






We left again and went back to the trail, it was uphill all the way back to the park. Laura and I left Gerry and the kids to play for awhile. We went back into the woods and tried to sneak up behind the cranes on the other side. First off we saw Woody Woodpecker looking for grubs. Pileated
Woodpeckers are quite impressive.



We managed to get a little closer to the Sandhill cranes but the pictures were not much better than from the other angle, thats OK more exercize for us. I must remember when walking in the woods to look up as well as looking down. With my vision being impaired now my perspective is all off. I use the smaller trees to grab to help me on slopes and I find they are not as close as they seem. While working that out I forget to also look up at the low hanging branches. No matter.........we did get to see the cranes. The grasses by the edge were also very pretty.






Then it was back up the hill again, I really must get in shape........huff puff.......