A beautiful day for a hike and observing wildlife!

It's sad to say but so many people either don't realize how beautiful our area is or they just take it for granted.  We take nothing for granted and use every available opportunity to be out there exploring and enjoying all that nature has to offer.  We have explored so many backwoods nooks and crannies and have spent countless hours bumming around because we have this fear that we might be missing something awesome.  Quite honestly that is what keeps our wheels turning.  Without fail,  everytime we are out and about we discover something so fascinating that it drives us to keep exploring.  Certainly we find the animals quite fascinating but even aside from the wildlife, there is so much to see and admire. 

As you look at the pictures below, try to imagine what it is like when you are seeing these things and feeling and hearing nature as it surrounds you.  Perhaps while you are watching a small group of deer there are snowbirds singing away as they fly from branch to branch.  Picture watching a flock of turkey as a Pileated Woodpecker loudly drums away on a hollow beech tree.  The sound is amazing to hear and almost unbelieveable to think that it is the result of a small bird pecking away in search of a little snack. 

For a moment picture a Bobcat running full speed across in front of you as a flock of crows make all kinds of racket overhead.  We find it easier to picture because that pretty much described our Sunday afternoon hike.  Unfortunately the Bobcat was quicker than my camera and the turkey pictures were not as vivid as our memories.  But we captured the moments in our mind and the memories will stay with us for a long time.
Such is life in the beautiful place we get to call home.



This is 2D and he is a bull to keep an eye on this year and hopefully for years to come.

Nice kiln close to Dewey Rd intersection

The love between man and his loyal friend is precious.

Male and female Common Meganser

And we even saw several whitetails.

New and old growth.  This big fella reminds us of Fred. 

Just watch me eat and grow.

See why he reminds us of Fred.  We'd love to find these sheds but they are apparently pretty tightly attached yet.

And we saw a few elk!

While sad to see it is a true testament to the resilience of wildlife.

We think this was a birth defect rather than an injury.