Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Hiking Emerson Point Preserve

Today dawned bright and glorious, a perfect day for hiking in the woods. winds were 10 to 20 knots, which prevented my husband from flying his Radio Control plains. We headed out early.

The first thing we saw as we pulled in at the preserve was this marvelous piece of work the osprey's had built to raise their families in. Click the picture to see how hard the work to build there nest.
It stands tall above every tree in the forest. They must have been out hunting for breakfast, because no one was home.

Where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico, Emerson Point Preserve protects a significant archaeological site: the Portavent Mound that is in a 365 acre, state-owned preserve. The mound is more than 1,000 years old
There are improved and unimproved trails and boardwalks are maintained for activities such as bird watching, hiking, biking, with a birding trail that allows us to see birds in their natural habitat. We did not see birds today, it was to windy, but we did smell a Skunk. So glad we did not SEE him/her.

As we wandered the trails, we saw dead trees rising from the green undergrowth.
And the trail wound around, over and under gumbo limbo trees and ancient oaks.
this little guy is a Horseshoe Crab, the trails run through mangrove swamps, along bay waters, and through wooded areas.

We found this little pretty green weed shining in the light

Saw the sun shine through the palmetto bushes.

Waterviews seen through live trees and dead limbs.

Shiny green swamp water, flowed under the boardwalk.
At one point on the trail, we had to duck under these trees to continue, I asked my husband, Bob to stand next to it to show how low we had to limbo.
Last but not least the woods were full of moss on the trees, Bob said it looked like his beard when it needs trimming. I asked him to pose with it and he did.
tomorrow I will post a few of the wild flowers that abound in fields of yellow and red and green.



Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.Rachel Carlson
It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. Robert Louis Stevenson








2 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

I've been missing you for the last few days! These pics are great. I love the sun through the palmetto, and the beard comparisons! I guess I've never seen a horseshoe crab, because on first look at your picture,I thought it was a compact that some lady had dropped! Do they really look like that?

Beverly said...

I've never been there. You are showing me places I need to go when I get home!