Search This Blog

Thursday, September 16, 2021

Wickedly Wild & Wondrous Wednesday

It had been almost a month since we last went on one of our little adventures. At first we were just going to go out to Green Valley, but I said, "What about Nodaway Lake west of Greenfield?" Bud had camped and fished there many years ago so he was ready to go back. On the outskirts west of Greenfield is a sign pointing the way to both Greenfield and Nodaway Lakes.


We stopped first at Greenfield Lake which has some nice picnicing,  fishing and camping spots and a paved walking trail which circles the lake.

But honestly, the most interesting thing I saw there was this solar powered monitoring station.

So it was back out to the road then on south and west to Nodaway Lake.


This was the right place. It was secluded, relatively wild, i.e., natural, and there was only one other human around - a man fishing off a dock on the east side of the lake.



A narrow gravel roadway took us around to the west side of the lake, angled east and then south to a turn around.

This was my kind of venture into the natural world. But I couldn't see all that I wanted to from a car. "Stop here so I can get out." And HD obliged.

The first photo was that one above of the dead tree in the water.



 

Next was this one of Blue Wood Asters.


And the entrance of a Funnel Spider.




At water's edge, more Blue Wood Aster and, I think, possibly, some Great Blue Lobelia.




As well as Goldenrod in bud.




Yellow flowers always grab my attention. At first I thought this lone bloom could be Partridge Pea, but I'm almost certain it is a Yellow Jewelweed blossom.





The remains of a tree trunk which made me think of a gaping maw. 😏




I had to smell the White Sweet Clover. I love it's vanilla like fragrance.




On one side of the roadway was the water, on the other side, the woods.

More Blue Wood Asters, but here I was actually attracted to the lichen and fungi on the dead wood.


At the turn around there is an old iron gate and this wooden walk through fence stile.


Pass through and you are on a path into the woods.

I'm not able to go as far as I would like - maybe after I get my new hip we can go back and explore more extensively.



When Mother Nature so clearly highlights a scene, you'd best pay attention or miss out on something special.

White Snakeroot and a red leaf.


It looked like the path forked at this glade. To the left, down by the water? To the right, deeper into the woods?

I hope I get to find out the next time.




Heading back down the path. You can see that iron gate in the distance.

It is like the ones we had on the farm when I was young, before new, lighter gates replaced them. 

Those old gates were heavy and hard for a young person to drag open and closed. Now seeing one brings back nostalgic memories.



More White Snakeroot a little deeper into the tangled undergrowth of the woods.




Back at the stile and some kind of vine that I'm not even going to guess at.




One final shot of the lake and more of the Blue Wood Asters.


This was just the outing I didn't even know I needed. Perfect in every way.

It is good to be out in the natural world. No, not just good -- necessary.

💚💛💞😊





No comments:

Post a Comment