Hiking Forgotten Paths

  Sometimes, my hikes with the old dog get to be a bit repetitive since he is not able to do a lot of strenuous climbing over downed logs or worming his way through underbrush.  I have to stick to the clear trails which makes for seeing the same things over and over again.  However since he is feeling poorly from the bronchitis, I left him inside today.  Son and I headed out to the back woods to get firewood.  I have not been on this part of the property in months so it was an adventure...almost.  There were so many new things to see!

  One of the things that impressed me was the variety of turkey tail mushrooms that were on most of the felled trees.  The colors were so varied!  One log had a cluster of the mushrooms that scaled the cut end of the log.  It was actually beautiful!  I was hesitant to let Son cut the fallen trees merely because it would mean a loss of habitat for these mushrooms.  I had to do some heavy weighing here...warmth. mushrooms...warmth, mushrooms.  Warmth won so he cut and I hauled.

  Being able to expand my hiking trail was like finding a long lost friend.  Although, I recall every step of the path from previous hikes, the area was filled with new and exciting things.  The change of seasons does remarkable things to woods.  Being away for just a few months, made the changes jump out at me.  I was like a kid in a candy shop!  It was all I could do to stop exploring and start hauling firewood.  Hopefully, I can slip out again tomorrow and explore a bit more before the bad weather sets in on the weekend.

 

Just Pretending!

  It is easy to be fooled at times.  There is a small length of rope down near the marsh that, even though I know it is there, always makes me do a double take.  Invariably, I think "Snake!".  I get excited, pull up the camera ready to take that incredible photograph before I remember..."Oh, rope".  The "Rope" just does not bring as much enthusiasm as "Snake" does.  The snippet of rope catches me most every time and it is for that very reason that I do not fish it out of the marsh when I do cleanups of the place.  The rope is innocuous and. for the most part, inconspicuous.  It has become sort of a fixture and its absence would seem weird.  

  The rope being mistaken as a snake is the same as a log being confused as an alligator.  With my bad eyesight (and failure to wear the spectacles), many of floating logs have been "identified" as the gator.  Imagine my surprise when I find that I have spent twenty minutes getting the perfect shot of the all elusive log!  Well, what happens with you have two "logs" floating out on the Bay?  Surely one is the gator!

  That happened recently.  I spied two items floating out on the water and figured one had to be the gator.  Usually, I can tell by watching and seeing which log is "swimming".  Both were....at least, both were moving and moving in the same direction.  Two gators?  That was just too much to ask!  And it was....not two gators...not two logs.  

  My two floaties were not two of the same even though their directional movement was similar.  One gator and one large board were drifting just a few dozen feet apart.  At least in this situation, I did not feel too embarrassed with my photograph.  The gator is in the forefront of the photograph!  Whew!  Not a mistake this time...sort of....maybe!  So, was the gator pretending to be a log?  Or was the log pretending to be a gator?

Looks can be deceiving!

~This post was originally for Thursday, May 12th but due to problems with Blogger, it could not be published on that date.~

Looks can be deceiving! This afternoon while out meandering around the back part of the property near the creek, I came across something relatively strange and interesting. As I age, I realize that certain things are not as they once were and have come to terms with each and every one. One of these changes is a vast difference in my vision. Sometimes, when I do not have my glasses firmly mounted in front of my eyes, I see things in a bit different light. Occasionally, this can make for a most amusing discovery! What I think is some great photographic opportunity turns into a hilarious mistaken identity! Today's great shot turned out to be just that..one of those "I really need to use my glasses!" occurrences!

Keep in mind that lately the Bayou House has been on the receiving end of a lot of unwanted, "throw-away" pets that are discarded like rubbish by their heartless owners. Here, these animals are fed and hopefully helped along their way to a better home than whence they came. I thought I had discovered another wayward animal behind the peach orchard. In the tall grass, there seemed to be a head peering timidly back at me. This seemed from all appearances to be a large dog..and quite an interesting dog at that. To my bad eyes, it almost looked like an Afghan Hound! Why in the world would someone dump out an Afghan Hound? Those are beautiful dogs..but there he sat in a full Sphinx pose...gorgeous! I eased my way towards the poor lost hound. He sat motionless..staring at me. I was hooked..I had to lure this dog back to the house, give him a meal and at least attempt to find the original or even a new family. This animal would not have much of a chance surviving in the wild..he needed to be pampered! The pose..how perfect! The markings..exquisite! The hair..strikingly silky! I crept closer...man, could that dog stay still! Perhaps he thought that I would not notice him..perhaps he thought that I would harm him..perhaps he was a bit people-shy from being lost. I would help him! I eased still closer.

Then the realization set in..hard..my Afghan Hound sure started to look a lot like a log! During the winter, Hubby and Son cut a lot of firewood from this same area. They were clearing up a lot of dead or damaged trees and Mr. Afghan Hound was none other than a stump that they had left to burn on the rubbish pile! The beautiful fur was only some dried grass that had been bent over the top of the log. "The pose..how perfect! The markings..exquisite! The hair..strikingly silky!" The vision..bad! The mistake..slightly embarrassing! A log!!!! Jeez!