I couldn’t wait to see the condition of the trails today, and I was missing the preserve. I’ve been giving the place some time to dry out. This morning was sunny and bright when I got there about 10:20am and walked up the trailhead toward the north pond.
It’s a delight to see that newly-built bridge that will get us across a low spot that easily gets muddy (it’s one of several that were recently constructed). However, the seeps are still seeping. The water from spring rains is still percolating down through the sandy soil and presumably hits a layer of clay right around the level of the trail. Unable to trickle down any deeper, the water seeps out of the hillside and right onto the trail. And so the trail is still muddy just beyond the bridge.
As I was taking this in, the mosquitos began to land and drill down into me. I don’t usually apply any insect repellent, but today it would have been very useful!
Everything that grows is growing in wild abandon. Wild bergamot was beautiful in the sunshine and the spotted bee balm was growing tall and crowding the edge of the trail. Standing there on the hillside, I checked the conditions in the shade – it was 80F and 79% relative humidity. Not so hot, but pretty steamy. And the mosquitos were hovering around me. I’m gonna have to get serious about insect repellent.
I decided to visit the south pond, which is full and beautiful. Walking around the boardwalk, I sat on the dock and watched for a while. The alligator weed has swallowed up the pond margin. Dragonflies are busily swooping and hovering by the water and perching on reeds. I hope they are eating their fill of mosquitos. Birds were calling; the Merlin app suggested that these were Carolina wrens, Carolina chickadees, northern cardinals, a barn swallow, and a purple martin. The effect was made even more enchanting by a few cricket frogs, calling in that lazy way they do on summer days.
The 45 minutes I spent at the preserve were delightful, and I’m looking forward to another visit soon. You’re invited to join me for a walk on June 30th that will be focused on mindfulness and nature journaling (see our Facebook page for details).