Neighborhood Walk
/I took a walk in the neighborhood yesterday – needing an invigorating winter walk to help move my internal clock to daylight savings time. It takes several days for me to settle into the new ‘normal’ and I always wish we could just be on the same time all the time. I bundled up in layers and wore my hiking boots. I stayed very comfortable except for my legs and hands; I’ll remember my snow pants and hand warmers next time I am walking the neighborhood when it is barely above freezing. There were a few photographic opportunities: a spray of crepe myrtle seed pods that has blow from some nearby trees,
A sidewalk that was already impacted by tree roots (it was replaced in the last couple of year – the repair did not last very long),
And a cardinal (silhouette) singing high in a tree.
My destination was the storm water pond for the neighborhood. It does have grass growing on the slopes – a good thing – but had no habitat the red wing blackbirds like it did before all the vegetation around the edges was cleared.
Trash was visible around the edges. Next time I’ll bring a pole to bring the pieces far enough onto land so I don’t have to wade into the pond to collect it.
There is already algae beginning to grow on one end of the pond. Maybe the pond always had the scummy surface but the vegetation around the edge was thick enough that we didn’t see it. The run off must overload the water with nutrients.
On the plus side, there was a mallard pair exploring the pond. I wondered if the pond is big enough to support a nest and ducklings. There isn’t a lot of shelter around the pond but there is an overgrown area behind the pond that might work.
