Merry Christmas

Many years ago, on a very, very cold Winter's day, I photographed two of the waterfalls at Hocking Hills State Park in Logan, Ohio, Old Man's Cave and Cedar Falls. As I perused my archives this morning, I happened across this image of Cedar Falls and wanted to share it again. To my amazement when I traveled back in time on my blog, I found I had only shared this image one time way back in 2009. The image is a low resolution scan from slide film, but I love the colors of the limestone rock behind the waterfall and the trees hanging over.

Perhaps one day I will get back to Hocking Hills and take new photographs with my digital camera. Until then, this beauty will have to suffice. I want to leave a note for everyone stopping by my blog this holiday season. May your holidays be filled with friends and family and much peace and joy. Have a Very Merry Christmas. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Wildlife Walk, Radnor Lake State Park

Come hike with me as I walk the lake trail at Radnor Lake State Park today. Did I mention we will get to visit with some of the local wildlife as we take a walk on this bright sunny day with temps hovering in the high 60's. Radnor Lake is in the middle of metropolitan Nashville surrounded by large neighborhoods, so it gets a lot of visitors.

After about a mile into the lake trail, I turned toward the aviary trail and hiked another quarter mile into the woods. To my surprise as I neared a clearing in the woods, a huge bird flew up from the clearing and perched in a nearby tree. I have never seen an Owl in the wild, until today! A gorgeous Barred Owl sat perched in a tree perfectly positioned for picture taking. Every now and then he would turn his head all the way around and stare down at me. I was about 200 yards away on the path. You suppose he knew he was the star of my show! Did I mention this is a Life List Bird!

The trail to the opposite side of the lake cuts through the lake and a swamp. As I walked I peered into the water and saw something swimming parallel with the trail. A Muskrat swam past me and disappeared into the deep water carrying a large stash of vegetation. Lunch!

As I peered into the depths of the swamp, a huge Turtle swam by. He didn't seem to mind the company at all.

The Turtles were out in force sunning themselves on downed branches in the lake close to the shoreline.

There were various species of Turtles sunning themselves. I hope they put on sunscreen.

As I turned to make my way to the aviary, I snapped this image looking back at Radnor Lake. It's a beautiful lake and quite large. The perimeter lake trail, if you choose to hike it all the way around, is three miles. I did the entire hike on my first trip here to Radnor Lake in 2016.

I wished I could contain my excitement at seeing my first Owl in the wild. Needless to say, when I checked out my images in Lightroom, I had some fantastic photos of the Barred Owl. He had a sleepy look on his face as he sat motionless lazily sunning himself. His perch was the perfect spot for me to capture quite a few pics of him. I doubt he knew he was the star of my show!

Hopefully, you've enjoyed this hike around Radnor Lake. It's a beautiful park and very flat surfaces to walk on with half of the lake trail paved. I want to go back soon to see if I can capture the Barred Owlettes. Word is they fledged, but perhaps they will come back to the nest. The nest was on the opposite side of the lake from where I hiked, so I didn't make it there on this visit. Have a wonderful weekend all. ENJOY!

Winter on Radnor Lake

Ring Necked Ducks migrating south make a stop at Radnor Lake to hang out for a few days. Radnor sees a plethora of migrating birds throughout the seasons. This is a beautiful lake situated just south of downtown Nashville with a gorgeous state park surrounding it.

The trail around the lake is approximately three miles in circumference. I walked the entire path on an uncharacteristically balmy winter's day. I discovered Ring Necked Ducks on both the south and north side of Radnor.

I wonder where these Ducks will be off to next on their journey south.

Not much sun on this winter's day, but a treat to see these Ring Necked Ducks. Have a wonderful week all. ENJOY!

A Frigid 'New Year'

The start of a New Year has brought with it frigid, sub zero temperatures. A 'bomb cyclone' as the meteorologists term it is making its way up the Eastern seaboard tonight with 60 mile an hour winds and snow and ice and sleet. This frigid weather immediately took me back to a visit I made almost a decade ago in January to Hocking Hills State Park in Logan, Ohio. I watched and waited for the perfect opportunity when frigid cold and snow would leave an ethereal landscape of white. Then I set out to photograph the frozen waterfalls in Hocking Hills.

My favorite image was of the Upper Falls of Old Man's Cave. A twisting path lead down to the waterfall with a thin layer of snow that had blanketed the region the night before. The path was slippery as the snow had covered the remains of an ice storm earlier that week. Temperatures were in the mid 20's so I drove to Walmart in Logan and bought thicker gloves to wear. My North Face jacket, wool scarf,  thick gloves, boots and jeans were just enough to achieve my goal against the cold. It was simply stunning to see huge frozen icicles hanging from what I later learned was Blackhand Sandstone cliffs. I fell straight down on my bum once making my way to the base of the falls. Here's an excerpt about Old Man's Cave.

Old Man's Cave derives its name from the hermit, Richard Rowe, who lived in the large recess cave of the gorge. His family moved to the Ohio River Valley around 1796 from the Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee to establish a trading post. He and his two dogs traveled through Ohio along the Scioto River in search of game. On one side trip up Salt Creek, he found the Hocking Region. Rowe lived out his life in the area and is buried beneath the ledge of the main recess cave.

This next image is the very frozen over Middle Falls of Old Man's Cave with barely a sliver of water falling over. I struggled to get a decent vantage point to snap this image. I finally gave up and snapped this image and moved on. Sadly though, I couldn't reach the Lower Falls. The stairway down was a solid sheet of ice. You couldn't get down and you would never get back up. There is also an Upper and Lower Gorge between the different falls which I didn't photograph. The entire length of the trail to these falls and gorges is approximately a mile.

Thanks for coming along with me on this trip back in time. I would love to be there right now taking new images in various perspectives having learned so much more about photographing waterfalls since that day. Stay warm and bundle up if you go out of doors. Thoughts of warm mittens, hot cocoa and warm bowls of soup come to mind as I put up this post. ENJOY!

Fall at Radnor Lake

Where do you go when you need to be out in nature. Here in Nashville there are several lakes you can visit. I live right off Old Hickory Lake. I enjoy seeing the wildlife flying in and out as I come and go throughout the week. In south Nashville sits beautiful Radnor Lake, surrounded by gently rolling hills and woodlands. Today I walked along the East side of the lake on an old paved road listening for the birds and watching the water for wildlife. I found a spot where the foliage was not so dense and captured this image of the beautiful Fall leaves. I especially like the reflections of the trees in the water in this image.

After crossing the path over the dam, I made my way to the West side of the lake. As I walked the dirt trail, I heard a rustling in the leaves. A Chipmunk was scampering around looking for something to munch on. It was the perfect day for a walk with temps in the low 80's and no humidity. Soon these days will be gone with cold Winter breezes blowing over a barren landscape. But for now it's just beautiful and warm. Tennessee is predicted to be at peak Fall foliage all next week. I hope I can get out and take a few more images before Winter officially knocks on our door. ENJOY!

Birding, Radnor Lake

All year I tried to get out to Radnor Lake in southwest Nashville to hike the Lake Trail, but timing was never on my side. Most of our Summer was very very oppressively hot. I missed Spring at Radnor and I had planned on getting out to the lake for Fall, but it never happened mainly because of the rainy Fall we encountered here in Tennessee. Today I made the drive over to the lake and as luck would have it the weather was perfect with temps in the 70's and a brisk wind that kept me cooled off as I made the three mile hike around the parameter of the lake.

As I walked the Lake Trail I first encountered this Ring Necked Duck, a Life List bird for me, perched quietly on a log near the bank. I snapped a few images and moved on.

A short distance away I happened upon what looked like the rest of the flock of Ring Neck Ducks swimming close to the bank also. There were males and females alike. The females are brown and tan while the males are black and white. Ring Neck Ducks have a smaller compact body with two toned wings and a ring around their bills too. Their breeding grounds are in the very far northern eastern United States and most of Canada. They travel as far south as Tennessee in Winter. They like small ponds and smaller lakes which is no doubt the reason I found them on Radnor.

Radnor Lake is a state park and has 1200 acres including the lake. With its close proximity to downtown Nashville and situated right smack dab in the middle of suburbia, Radnor is very popular with families and couples. Getting a parking space is not an easy feat, as I've tried in the past and couldn't get in. I think the holidays had a few folks out shopping which left the park with not as many visitors. I can't wait to get out to Radnor in Spring and Summer to see all of the greenery. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. ENJOY!

Linking to Saturday's Critters and Wild Bird Wednesday