Easter Morning in the Park

It was the morning of Easter. We started our walk from the parking lot at Sycamore Landing a little later than usual – after going to Mass. In spite of the chill in the air, it was clear that the season of Spring was well underway. Various wild flowers were making their appearance,
and in sufficient numbers to brighten the pathway,and the surroundings,on a sunny morning.

The trees are still in the process of greening these days.The towering Sycamores with the bare white tops will be the last to respond to the coming to the warmer days.

This baby turtle, perched on the trunk of a tree that had fallen over the canal bed, kept us in its sight as we passed by.It was prepared to dive into the green water at the slightest sign of trouble.

The birds were noisily making these presence known, but I was not having much luck in getting their pictures with my new lenses. The Merlin app on my smartphone did confirm the presence of the birds. The Carolina Chickadee, Northern Cardinal, Rusty Blackbird, Bluejay, White-throated Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse and American Goldfinch, were recognized in one location. Additionally, the White-breasted Nuthatch and a Brown Creeper were heard in a different location. Even on the rare occasion when I was successful in sighting one of these birds, they seemed to be intent on playing with me – either positioning themselves behind some smaller branches so that I would have trouble focusing on them and getting a complete picture, or flitting rapidly from one location to another, so that I would not be able to track them with the camera. The zoom on the lens already made it difficult to point the camera in the right direction to find the birds, and then to isolate them from the background. Their further antics made for a hopeless situation in this regard. I had to settle for this picture of a bluebird.

We enjoyed our Sunday outing, and all its distractions, as usual. It was warming up nicely by the time we were done.

This being Easter, we treated ourselves to a brunch from a neighborhood breakfast shop. I would recommend this place to the locals. But be cautioned that you really should go there on an empty stomach since the quantity of food offered is substantial, especially for some of us folks whose stomachs feel like they have shrunken over time.