Friday, November 13, 2009

Nice Day For A Walk

Today is day off number two. It started out cold, but quickly warmed to 80 degrees by the afternoon. Dozer and I decided to take a walk to soak in the sun. We also picked up my truck from the main park area.
We walked around the barn and in the field behind the barn first. There was not a lot of wildlife action aside from some very fast lizards who had the same idea we did, get warm in the sun. There were no flowers to speak of aside from some tiny yellow ones here and there, but there was color! Sprinkled throughout the browning grasses, were hundreds of little Sumac sprouts that had turned the most beautiful shade of crimson.
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I also noticed that the pea pods were drying out. Many of them had dried enough that they had twisted open and scattered their seeds.
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When we stopped at the water faucet at the barn so that Dozer could get a drink, I noticed a great big grasshopper on the fence.
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When it hopped away, Dozer took notice and had to give it a sniff. I'm glad he didn't want to taste it, the grasshopper is too, I'm sure.
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We left the barn area and headed off down the trail to the park. I was surprised to see a giant yellow butterfly just sitting in the leaves on the trail. I was also surprised that it stayed still while I got close to it with a camera and a 130lbs dog!
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When we got to the park, we visited with the workers. Dozer was happy to have other people to snuggle against. I was happy because my co-worker washed my truck for me. It looked so shiny and nice! When we were done with our visit, we loaded up in the truck and headed home. It was a nice adventure.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

arent summac on your not native to Florida list?
Jen

Ranger Amy said...

There are lots of different kinds of Sumac. I don't honestly know which kind I photographed, but it is likely one of the native types. There are non-native varieties in the US and some that are invasive, but it isn't on my worst offenders list.