Turtles and Deer

Today, Kris and I walked at Castlewood State Park on one of the shorter trails.  It’s been so hot and we got a late start, so we decided to take the shorter trail.  About halfway out, this trail crosses one of the creeks in the park.  Right now, due to a lack of rain, the water in this creek is quite low.  Makes it easy to cross.

We saw the very healthy looking turtle on the same tree limb over the same small pond in the creek we had seen a few days ago.  He dove in as soon as he became aware of us.  That pool is full of very healthy looking pollywogs, minnows, and some water striders.

We saw a bunch of deer today.  Instead of resuming the trail at the creek crossing, we decided to stay in the creek bed and follow it back to our car.  It was lovely.  For rock hunters, this place might be paradise.  We have found all kinds of shell encrusted rocks, chunks of limestone, examples of granite, sandstone, quartz, and other minerals – not to mention a wide assortment of manmade ‘stones’ like bricks, chunks of asphalt and concrete, and shards of broken glass, along with the occasional bicycle tire, soda can, and plastic glass.

We soaked our socks through our waterproof shoes, risked an infestation of chiggers when we had to resume the trail, and invaded the privacy of a number of deer who think they own the place, but it was a pleasing walk along a lovely, shaded creek.  We forgot the hellish temperature and just enjoyed the trek.