Conservation Trail - Murder Creek Re-re-re-re-visited

 Except for some wet weeds, today was a pretty nice hike. We waited until noon to start because it was raining fairly hard in the morning. We got sprinkled on a little bit, but not bad.

We crossed Murder Creek for the first time today at 1:53. This is the creek we crossed once yesterday. But now it was placid and grassy.

Before long, it had changed character completely to this rocky stream.

We followed it through a park, crossing again on this nice footbridge.

Walking beside it, there is an arch for the footpath in this bridge that carries Clarence Center Road.

Finally, we crossed it one more time, where it is now wider. It flows into Tonawanda Creek which flows to the Niagara River.

Legend has it that a Tuscarawas Chief loved his daughter so much that he became jealous when a young brave came to court her, and he killed them both. Murder Creek.

Miles hiked so far in 2024: 292.9. Finger Lakes Trail miles hiked in 2024: 25.6

Conservation Trail, Western NY. NY Thruway to Clarence Center Rd. 6.8 miles

BONUS SECTION: Critters

It was a great day for seeing critters. Ones I could not catch with the camera include a brown thrasher, a mockingbird, and a small snake- possibly a red-belly.

This snail was easy to take pictures of. It moved so slowly, we decided not to wait long enough for it to extend its antennae all the way. But it was fun to watch. I have to wonder what a snail thinks when it is suddenly hoisted from the ground to sit in a hand that must smell really odd to it.

This handsome redtail hawk did not like us walking on the trail below and was very vocal about it.

We got an extra treat in the evening with a visit to another garden, but that will have to wait for another day. However, there was a friendly lawn bunny that was quite used to people.

A big ol' bullfrog is always fun.

The garden had ponds with beautifully colored koi.

But the best find of the day (well, I really did like the snail too) was a fledgling red-wing blackbird. It was just learning to fly and wasn't doing a very good job of it yet. Mama was close by.

This is way more than enough for one day!

See Murder Creek

I Spy

 
Just a baby rabbit to make you smile.



The most interesting thing is that if it's sitting on the dirt pile outside it's home burrow, that is very close to the woodchuck hole. I'm surprised they are sharing such close quarters.



I'm posting early because after writer's group tonight I need to pack up the last little things I need for a quickie hiking trip. I leave tomorrow morning. Just two days and one night. There probably won't be a blog post tomorrow unless I try one from my phone. I might, but it's a real pain to do.

I'm using my old external frame pack because it's lighter. Also much smaller, but it will work for one night in the middle of summer. Total weight of food, water and all gear is only 22 pounds.


I will probably send a couple of pix to Facebook from the phone. That's easy to do. See you!

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Common Critters that Make Me Smile

 
Just enjoy a couple of critters today. I've been busy.

A lovely male cardinal- always cheerful



And I'm s total sucker for pictures of little bunny rabbits.



In other news: I worked on North Country Quest all morning, worked on the writer's event all afternoon, had writer's group tonight and then went grocery shopping on my way home.

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Bread and a Bunny

 
It was bread day today, and I made a kind that always seems to turn out well for me, with a slight change. The recipe is for Onion Bread, which is yummy, but not so much in peanut butter sandwiches. Since I always have my pb with dill pickles, I decided to chop up a couple of pickles instead of the onions. The bread turned out great, but the pickle flavor disappears when baked. The dill doesn't come through at all. If I want to do that I'll need to add some actual dill. But the texture is good. No clue why this one is always good, and some recipes don't seem to work for me. Anyway, I like having bread with only about 5 ingredients in it, and I can slice it really thin.



The raccoon was on the deck again. He scurried off before I could get a picture, but there was a rabbit in the grass.



In other news: I wrote all morning, then started the next step in the trailer this afternoon. I'll show you more about that, probably tomorrow. Did some odds and ends and made the bread. Another day with no need to talk at all. I like it.

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Full Crash

 
After the wonderful weekend, I'm in full crash mode. No apologies. See you tomorrow.

Here are a couple of big old rabbit feet (tracks) to wish you luck.

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Critters at Matthaei

 
This is still not the post I want to bring you, but don't worry. I have enough interesting material from Matthaei Botanical Garden to last a few more days.

These are the critters I encountered and managed to catch with the camera on my walk around the trail system.

First is a red-spotted purple admiral butterfly sitting on a Cow Parsnip. There was lots of it in bloom and the butterflies were loving it.



Then I bring you a bunny. I know, they aren't that special, but I just love them.



The next two pictures are pretty cool. I have to say that these were the most common dragonflies when I worked there, and they were still everywhere. They love all the small ponds and wetlands around the property.

First we have the male Common Whitetail dragonfly. Really easy to identify, and they will perch on logs, rocks, etc, so you can get a good view of them.



Then we have his Mrs. This is the female Common Whitetail dragonfly. It's really similar to the twelve-spotted skimmer, but the angled yellow bands on the sides are not quite the same.



We'll end this trip through the garden with another bluebird. I'm so happy that they have become fairly common again. I'll never think, "Oh, just a bluebird." They were in real trouble in the 1970's, and the pretty-much-grassroots movement to put out bluebird boxes made a huge difference in their population. You know I love blue, and they are such cheerful little additions to the sky/lawn/orchard/fenceline.



Maybe tomorrow I'll find those other pictures!

In other news: and this is why I didn't find them today... I was at a vendor event with my books all day. Did well... actually made money. Sometimes you have to just chalk up these events to publicity and networking. Then I came home, put everything away and did the record keeping. I also watched Justify become the 13th TRIPLE CROWN WINNER!!!! Citation won the year I was born, and Justify the year I turned 70. I like it.

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Spring - Auto-load in Slow Mode

 
After those few strangely warm days in February, we now can't seem to get spring to move into gear. That said, on my walks of yesterday and today there were many indications that it's trying hard.

I've seen a fair amount of mammalian wildlife moving around: a woodchuck, squirrels, this rabbit. And the annual vehicular carnage has begun. Within a half mile of my house there are three dead opossums, a turkey and a porcupine.



My daffodils still have tight buds, but I found these along the road.



This wetland looks essentially the same as it did two weeks ago, so I'll spare you the second picture. Gray and brown.



And yet, I've heard the spring peepers and also chorus frogs. Heard a big plop today, and suspect it was one of these guys, a painted turtle. Picture taken yesterday.



Some of the best color is the weeping willow trees, which always look like yellow fireworks while they leaf out.


I'm hearing the early birds: robins, red-wing blackbirds, phoebes, mourning doves.



But the greenest, prettiest tree was this white pine, which of course, is green all year. The picture does show how little else has greened up yet.



And yet, I brought home a baggie full of dandelion and wild carrot greens to add to my dinner salad. That's a good start, but it's double digit days of April. Time for more green!

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Early Teenagers

 
I think the first litters of rabbits from the year are hitting puberty. This morning there were three teenagers chasing each other around my lawn



The ran around so fast I mostly got a lot of blurry pictures.

Last night there was no window between me and these siblings. They did a few circles.



But then one of them posed! Doesn't he look like the quintessential teenager? What an attitude.



In other neighborhood news, the old school building about a mile away that partially collapsed in November was removed today.
I know the local historical society documented all the county schools and has good pictures. But I still find passings like this sad.

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