Nature Shots at Walter F. George COE

Deer across canal

This evening I took my chair down to the edge of the canal to see if I could get some wildlife pictures. I got both deer and egret photos.

I was thrilled to capture pictures of the egret catching a fish and then taking flight. Unfortunately, the quality of the zoom photos is poor. But it was rewarding to catch the action anyway.

Deer grazing

Earlier in the day, we walked the nature trail by the Old Mill Road campground. I was hoping to get some really nice flower photos — or maybe find some good mushrooms. I didn’t find anything terribly interesting there…. or maybe I wasn’t feeling very creative due to coping with Sheba’s hyper energetic puppy antics.

Our next door camping neighbor is a delightfully cheery person. Ron said yesterday morning he boomed, “Good morning, world!” as he headed toward his pontoon boat. We’ve heard him singing several times.

Egret catching a fish

They caught 22 channel catfish yesterday. Then this morning they caught 14 more before he and his wife decided that they had all the fish they cared to clean. They offered us some, but catfish isn’t our favorite, so he had to clean all 14 of them. 🙂

Egret taking flight

The little nature trail has several interesting features, including a wildlife viewing blind and a bridge over a swampy area that also offers wildlife viewing opportunities. We startled a deer who bolted before I could get my camera focused while crossing the bridge.

The only fungi I noticed were turkey tail, stinkhorn and another unidentified large orange mushroom. I didn’t examine the underside, but it’s probably a polypore. It had a side stalk similar to a beefsteak mushroom, but the orange color was wrong.

I’m sitting outside under the awning this evening listening to the night sounds and savoring the cool breeze. Time seems to have no meaning here. It’s peaceful and very special.