Join me for a walk in the woods

I love trekking through the woods in the Fall.  The leaves are starting to change color, the mosquitoes have stopped eating me alive, and the mushrooms are starting to sprout all over.  I've gotten into the habit of always taking my camera with me when I go wandering.  I love taking pictures of all the different mushrooms, interesting plants, flowers, and trees, and any animals I come across.  So I thought I'd share some of the cool things I found while wandering through the woods the other day.
These are a few of the more interesting mushrooms I came across.  This is a great time of year to spot mushrooms growing under trees and in damp shady spots throughout the woods.  I found more mushrooms this year than ever before, and even discovered a few varieties I've never seen before!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And while I was moving some branches aside to get a picture of this funky mushroom I discovered this handsome fellow curled up in a small tree about 3 feet off the ground.

 

 

How awesome is this?!  I'm fairly certain it's a garter snake, and I'd say it was at least 1 1/2 to 2 feet long- a pretty good size for snakes in this area.  It's actually kind of rare to see any snakes around here any more, unfortunately.  Too much destruction of habitat along with pollution, added to the sad fact that many people feel they have to kill every snake they come across.  I think these creatures are beautiful, and serve the very important role of keeping the rodent population in check.  It was pretty cool outside when I discovered the snake, and he was pretty sluggish, so I was able to get some good pictures.  Although I wanted to, and I probably could have, I didn't touch the snake or disturb him in any way.  As the saying goes: "Take nothing but pictures, and leave nothing behind but footprints".  Don't disturb the natural balance.  I did take the time to thank him for posing so nicely for me though ;-)

I hope you enjoyed sharing my walk in the woods!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters 

Become a fan of CreativeCritters on Facebook

Follow CreativeCrittersBlog

Join CreativeCritters Google+ circles

Get CreativeCritters e-books from Smashwords and Amazon

 

 

The flooded Metroparks

I took a short break from cleaning the wet basement to check out the flood damage down in the Metroparks and get some pictures.  All I can say is Wow!  I've never seen the water from the river so high, and it had even gone down quite a bit since yesterday. 
 
 
Normally you can walk across to the other side of the river here.  You can see some of the trees and debris that have been washed down from farther up the river.  I've never seen it flowing this fast and violently. 
You can see that the walking path ends abruptly in water.  The flood waters had covered the road as well.  And the picnic area was still flooded.  Now I know why the picnic tables have cables attaching them to the ground.  I can see that they were still tossed around quite a bit. 
And there was a big log jam against a small bridge.  This road is closed for obvious reasons!
  
These are some big trees!  The bridge was cracked from the force of all that water and debris.  It will be really interesting to see how much the landscape has been changed once the water recedes back to normal levels.  And now it's back to the basement, which is drying up slowly but surely. ;-)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

A walk in the Park

Today I thought I'd share some pictures from one of my recent walks in the Metroparks.  I've been enjoying the park since I was little, and still feel that sense of peace every time I hear the sound of that river (Rocky River).  I have a great affinity for water and natural settings.  I don't mind slogging through muddy spots, or blazing my own trail through the woods.  I never outgrew that childlike joy of observing nature.  Every time I walk along that river I think of my brothers, Jeff especially.  He was the oldest, so he was in charge on our little adventures.  I spent many happy hours with both my brothers playing in those woods and on that river.  And now that I have a digital camera (something I could have put to good use as a kid!), I can take as many pictures as I want, and share them with all my friends.

This is a swampy area where I often see ducks, and the occasional heron.  Right now there are lots of dragonflies cruising over the still water looking for prey.


 
This is a view of the river, which was up pretty high from the recent rain storm.
 
A shot of a plane passing over just above the treetops.  Part of the park is under the flight path of the nearby airport, and the planes fly so low you can practically touch them- LOL!  
  
Three different types of mushrooms I spotted while wandering through the woods.  I've always found mushrooms very interesting, and just a bit magical.
 
This spider made a web on one of the small bridges and was kind enough to pose for a picture (that zoom feature comes in real handy- LOL).  Although I still have a bit of a fear of spiders, I find them very interesting.
 
The river is pretty shallow here, and the horse path crosses it and disappears into the woods on the other side.  Two riders passed me while I was checking the area out.  I really like following the bridle path, since it tends to be the path less traveled.  So that's my latest trip to the park.  Although it's surrounded by city and suburbs, there's still some magic left here, if you know where to look. ;-)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters