Strolling in the deer zone….

The “Deer Zone” is a county park I discovered last fall.  It is about three miles or so from my house and features a trail that winds thru a heavily wooded area and a field behind a housing development.  I’ve been doing my walking here at least a few times a week since late last fall, at least when the weather is decent. This past week has been nothing but rain and chill, and so I’ve not been to the Deer Zone in several days.  “Deer Zone” isn’t the actual name of this park, but I call it that because it is loaded with quite a few very tame white tailed deer.  Nine out of ten walks will produce at least one deer sighting.  If I slow down and look carefully, I sometimes see them laying down in thickets, their tan coats rendering them nearly invisible.  There are also some squirrels and birds that like wooded areas, including nuthatches and downy woodpeckers.  One day I heard a barred owl close by in the trees, but I couldn’t see it.  Here are some pictures I took there about a week and a half ago:

The Deer Zone 

I have no doubt that most of the trees have lost their blooms since then with all the rain and wind.  But there were some redbud trees that were just starting to bloom that may be in full bloom now.  I am hoping to go walking there with my husband tomorrow, as they are not calling for rain and finally the temperature will be seasonal.  But then again, sometimes I decide to go walking at the duck pond, which is a city park. It is a bit more plain, with little shade and wooded areas, and fewer flowering trees.  As befits its nickname, the duck pond has a small figure eight shaped pond, roughly three acres in size, I would guess. There is a trail that encircles it and there is a pier that goes out into one side for fishing. The “tie” in the figure eight is a bright shiny aluminum bridge the narrowest center part of the pond.  I’ve seen great blue herons, plenty of Canada geese, an occasional duck, and recently, several turtles sunning themselves on warm days.

The Duck Pond