Chuck and I were on the trail early this morning. We headed to the network of trails around the Rocky River Nature Center. In the heat of summer, the woods grow quiet. It’s as if the birds and critters grow heavy and tired in the humidity. For the first time in a long time, this morning was very cool and the bushes and trees were alive with birdsong!
Woodpeckers of all varieties tapped out good morning. Goldfinches feasted on milkweed and posed prettily on the heavy pink blossoms. A dry tree near the trail was festooned with catbirds. A kingfisher chattered far off over the marsh and tiny hummingbirds flitted here and there like fairies among the flowers.
One song cut through the rest. It was loud and clear. I followed the sound expecting to see a bird much larger than the tiny wren that was belting his tune. The house wren is small and brown. There are delicate details on his back, but were it not for his exuberant song, I never would have noticed him at all!
As we neared the end of our hike and headed across the boardwalk toward the nature center, we were approached by a woman and her German Shepard. I turned back so we could move off the narrow walk to give them room to pass. The woman looked and me and then at Chuck and asked, “Are you “walkingwithchuck?” She had seen my photos on Facebook! We had a lovely chat and I was so excited to learn that she hikes many of the same trails and loves to see the photos of the things Chuck and I find. Thank you, Linda, for following along and for introducing yourself today! What a treat!
