Johnville Bog & Forest Park

We went walking at Johnville Bog & Forest Park today... it was a little chilly, but very sunny and a nice day to be outdoors. It was a really interesting place to visit.

Here's more information: Johnville Bog & Forest Park


This wooden walkway leads through most of the park:




Some birch trees on the outer edge of the bog:




Trees growing in the bog:




The bog was surprisingly colorful in some places:




Pine trees are one of few species that can tolerate the low pH here:




There's not a lot of wildlife in the bog... mostly insects:




In places, it looked almost surreal:




A mushroom that looks like a fingernail :)




A tree being pulled down into the bog:



It was a beautiful day for a nature hike:

Wildlife along the bike trail

I love biking, but sometimes I prefer to go for a walk on the bike trail and bring my camera along. Here are some shots of some of the wildlife I've seen along the way.

A chickadee - very quick and hard to photograph, but this one played along:



A curious fawn - one of two walking through the woods with their mother.



A mussel or clam - he disappeared quickly when I poked him. :)




A heron - I've been stalking him for over a week in order to get a decent shot.




Three different garter snakes. Also very quick! I was quite pleased with these shots!

Nice Day for a Hike

The weather is finally cooperating here, so I've been spending as much time outdoors as I can. Today the destination was nearby Mont Orford. It was a tough hike, but we took the time to stop and take some pictures along the way.

Snowdrifts

I really liked the look of these snowdrifts. They reminded me of ocean waves.

Winter sure can be beautiful... I just wish it wasn't quite so long! :)

Teepees

I saw these teepees at a wilderness camping site during a winter hike. They reminded me of the hot air balloon festival held in my hometown every fall.

Sleeping Beauty Hike

I went for a hike on Sunday near Lake George... here is some information about the trail.

It was really a great day to be outdoors! Here are some pictures:

Crane Mountain hike #2

Crane Mountain, revisited: the summit is over a 3200 foot climb:

Crane Mountain: first hike

Today Neuro and I climbed Crane Mountain. The mountain is 1700 feet high at the summit, and despite the rough climb the view was breathtaking.

Rocky trail:



Pretty steep climb:



Midway up the mountain we stopped to take some photos:



This one really shows the perspective:



And eventually we DID reach the summit:



There were some little waterfalls along the way:



The weather was perfect, and the batteries in our cameras wore out before we did... which is why I am not sharing any photos of the loons we saw on the way home. :)

Red squirrel

A red squirrel from today's hike.


red squirrel

Birds of a Feather

Some birds I saw when I went for a walk through the woods yesterday:


Grackle





Chickadee





Sparrow





Downy Woodpecker

gray bird

a little gray bird from my walk on Sunday.

Autumn

A pinecone that fell to rest in the branches of an oak tree.





Some cat tails alongside a pond.





A few green leaves still standing at the end of autumn.

A Cardinal at the park

I chased him around quite a bit before I got this shot!


It's a male cardinal I saw at Crandall Park.

Petrified Sea Gardens - other shots

Petrified Sea Gardens

Glacial potholes - waterfalls of melt-water would pouroff the slow-moving glaciers and wear holes in the layer of rock... smaller pieces of rock helped the process, but sometimes a large boulder would be wedged in the stream of water and be worn smooth while making the hole rounder.




Solution channels - The crevices in the fossil reef are what led to its discovery in 1923 when a grazing cow fell and got stuck in one.

These crevices are the result of melting glaciers. Rushing melt-water would seek the path of least resistance and follow cracks in the rock, widening them over time.




This stone 'lion' was created from a large piece of fossilized rock in the 1920's.




A sundial and a frog from the Time Garden and Lily Pond.