My Quiet Friends Once Again

Love seeing the deer.  They are always so peaceful and quiet.  Lately, they don't even seem to be afraid of me.  Luckily, I'm usually by myself when I see them, and there isn't a lot of noise on the trail.  Hope you enjoy my pictures and videos even though they are usually of deer and turkeys.

There are two in this picture.

And finally, a video I took.  Hope it works!

Hiking in August

Still spending lots of time hiking and taking pictures, but I just don't seem to get around to blogging.  I usually allow myself a certain amount of time on the computer, and before I know it, I've run out of time and have work to do!  So this post, will be about several different hikes plus a little more.

Of course, I'm always looking out for my turkey friends.  On this particular day I spotted 4 of them.  However, as soon as I stopped, 3 ran away.  When I looked in my rear view mirror, a car was behind me, so I only took 1 picture.  I like the way the sun shines on his wattle.

I thought this bit of fungi looked like either a beautiful cup or flower.

I also liked this collection on both sides of this stump.

During this damp and humid hike, I also spotted this little guy right beneath my feet!  Can you see him?

And, of course, I can't pass up pictures of any deer that I come across.

And, finally, our new couch finally arrived!  It looks pretty average, but it's exactly what I wanted.  I wanted something that looked like it belonged in a ranch or cabin.  I like the nailhead decoration on the ends.  Kind of reminds me of something you would see on a saddle.  The two ends recline, so now we can both have a comfy place to sit.  More seating during the holidays too!

Sightings Along the Trail

I haven't been seeing a lot of deer lately, maybe I hike too late although it's usually between 8:45 and 9:45am.  Maybe I need to get up and moving earlier.

One day Cincinnati Bell was coming to work on our fioptics and I wanted to get out of the driveway before they showed up and blocked me in, so I got out the door a bit earlier.  This was my view of one of the hills I climb on the long loop.  You probably can't see the deer, but he is on the left side of the picture about half way up the hill.

 These next two pictures are a bit fuzzy but all I had was my phone camera and I zoomed in on the deer.

Some pretty little flowers alongside of the trail.

These are some shots along the portion of the short trail I hike.  The next picture, is a shot I take often.  I like the way it looks during various seasons of the year.  This one looks so peaceful and serene.  I love it!

Again, I zoomed in with my phone camera and captured a Great Blue Heron in the water (on the left)...a bit fuzzy.  These last two shots are right near the bridge that is closed, so I still like to hike there to see what wildlife might be enjoying the water.  Many times, I see deer there as well.

Busy Days and Busy Nights

I've been hiking pretty much lately, but just not taking many pictures.  I haven't seen too many deer lately while hiking.

I'm still counting birds but not as much as in the past.  I feel like I'm just sitting there wasting time when I could be doing other things.  I'm sure this is my last year for counting birds.  I will continue to feed them and watch them when I can especially when it's snowy.  I love seeing how many birds come.

I had my last eye doctor appointment yesterday and all is well.  Thankfully, the doctor wrote me a prescription for glasses because I was getting pretty annoyed with having to take my reading glasses off and on all the time.  I could drive without glasses, which was fine, but needed glasses for reading.  I didn't like the way my face looked without glasses either, so now I'm happy with the way I look (well, as happy as I can be).  And my distance sight is even better now with glasses.

Yesterday was a very busy day with an early eye doctor appointment, picking out frames etc., and then going grocery shopping with Herb.  I'm a quick in and out shopper, Herb is a big time browser.  Ugh.  I left him behind in many aisles yesterday.  While he looked over every selection on the shelves, I buzzed up and down the aisles grabbing exactly what I wanted on each shelf.  He finally caught up to me and then we headed over to the pharmacy section of the store.  I grabbed toothpaste, and checked out the vitamin/supplement section.  Then headed over to Herb who was checking out each and every deodorant product.  I finally just said, "just pick one and let's go."   We finally headed home at 8:15 pm.  We hadn't even had dinner yet!

The following are some pictures we shot driving through Winton Woods on the way home.  Being so late heading home had it's rewards.

 This next picture shows a portion of the paved trail that I walk if the regular trails are too slippery to hike.  The trail is to the left of the road.

One final picture of the sunset.

Finally, a pair of deer at the edge of the woods at dusk.

I'm still working on my diet.  I am down 22-24 pounds depending on the day,  Haha!  Today I was down 22 pounds due to eating at Arby's yesterday.  Oh it tasted good though!  It's the carbs that get me in trouble.  Not only a big bun but curly fries too.  Bad me.  So far today, I've been pretty good...we'll see what the scale says tomorrow!

On the Road with the Deer

Sometimes I see deer when I'm driving to the trail.  Usually one or two, but on this day, I saw four!  It always makes me nervous when I see deer along the road in the parks.  The speed limit is set low, but you know people they are always in a hurry and don't watch their speed.  I stopped, and prayed that no one would come speeding along behind me and rear end me.  There are lots of turns on this road and I didn't want to be a sitting duck.  Or that drivers coming in the opposite direction would hit the deer.

#1 deer on the right side of the picture checking for cars before he crossed.

Deer #1 making it across!

Deer #2 and #3.  One on the right, and one on the left.

Deer #4 on the right.  He's going to make a mad dash!

Quick! Before a car comes!

Hey guys!  Wait for me!

Right after they passed a car came in the opposite direction.  So I was glad they made it.  For some goofy reason, I think of the album cover of Abbey Road with these pictures.  They just needed a crosswalk. Haha!

Repairs to the Trail

OK, this post was drafted quite a while ago, and I never got around to posting it.  Sorry, things got busy.


Several weeks after we had had some heavy rains, the park district finally made some much needed repairs to the trail.  This is the entrance to the trail.  To my right was the beginning of the trail.  To my left was this pile of gravel and rocks.  I was wondering if I would be able to make my way around this pile at the end of my hike.  I decided I'd give it a try so off I went on my hike.

I did see a few deer that day.  There are several in this picture.

 I think he was wondering if I was following him.

I just love when they are hiding behind the brush, and I find them!  A treasure hunt!

Finally, I made it all the way around and I was behind the pile of gravel and rocks.  The men were working by then and moving the gravel to different parts of the trail with a bobcat.  You can see them in the background.  I made it around the gravel walking on the side.  The men were finished the next day and the trail was good as new.

A Little Variety

This post will be a little bit of this and that.  I know you are probably getting tired of my deer posts, but that's pretty much what I like.  

This is one of my favorite pictures!  This was taken in our backyard.  I love seeing the antlers on this guy!!  I only wish the bird feeders weren't in the shot!

 

This next picture was taken at one of our local parks inside their barn where they hold various activities year round.  I just love this Christmas tree!

Back on the trail for two photos that are NOT deer, however you may not like the last picture.

This last picture I hesitated to post.  I don't like to see dead animals, but it does give you a chance to see his pretty fur.  I'm sorry if it upsets anyone who sees it, it isn't too gory.  I'm guessing someone's dog might have caught it and brought it back to it's owner who was hiking the trail.  It was gone the next day.  Goofy me, said a little prayer for it, hoping it didn't suffer too much.

Deer at the Picnic Shelter.

I'm a bit behind in my blog.  I'm still using the old computer for my pictures because I like the program on the old computer.  So, the process to get the pictures on the blog takes some time.  These pictures are from a week or so ago.  I still hike 5 days a week rain, snow, shine, or as most people in Cincinnati know just plain gray cloudy winter days.  Many people are affected by the lack of sun, and I am one of those people.  The gray days just give me the blahs.  When the sun comes out, I can tell a big difference in my mood.  I'm glad though that I recognize why I am in such a crappy mood.

Most days I see a deer or two on my trails, but this particular day the deer were out in the open near a shelter I drive by to get to my trail.

I hope I don't bore everyone with my deer pictures, but I love these animals.  They're so quiet and peaceful.

There are 4 deer in this picture.

I've noticed most of the people who hike this particular trail usually have a dog or two with them.  A lot of the dogs are big dogs, so I think their owners let them off leash while on the trail.  I sure hope they leave the deer alone and let them live in peace.  But you know how people are....

A Great Day on the Trail

I gain so much from hiking.  The exercise, of course.  The fresh air that clears your mind and puts some energy in your step.  Seeing the wildlife and the trees and the rest of nature is the best part of it all.

I love taking pictures, because I miss so much of what I'm seeing with my tired old eyes.  Photographs give me a chance to see things closer and see what I've missed.

When I took this picture, I thought there were two deer in the picture, but as you can see there are four!  So sweet!

This is a far shot of a deer way off in the distance in the middle of the photo.  I don't know if you can see it.

Here he is after I cropped the photo a bit.  He's in the right of the photo.

And, again, a bit closer.

The reason I include all three photos is to include the rest of the surroundings that are so beautiful.

Finally, a video.  Just love to watch them move through the forest.

What a Great Hike!

I love when I get to see a deer or two along the trails when I hike.  On this particular hike I saw at least 10 deer!  I was so glad I didn't take Finn with me on this day because I'm pretty sure I either wouldn't have seen them all or if I did, I wouldn't have gotten any pictures of them.  I took over 23 pictures, however I've eliminated a few that are not that great.  I hope you like pictures of deer!

This is the first group of 4 I came across as I was moving up one of the hills.  You can see the tails of the first two, with two more following along the side.

Here they stopped to give me a look.

I heard a weird sound as I continued my hike.  I thought at first it was a bird that I had never heard before.  I turned around to see if I could spot it, and this is what I saw behind me!

The sound continued and then I realized it must have been his mama calling him.  He trotted off behind me looking for his mama.  Soon after, I didn't hear her anymore.  I guess they were reunited.

Another spotting along the trail.

There are 2 in this picture, can you see their faces?

 Making my way up another hill...here they come again.  Same ones? Or different?  The following are all the same deer, I just couldn't decide which ones to post, so I posted them all.

I finally made it to the top of the last hill, and I saw this last one bidding me farewell!