Things along the trail including a snack left behind by some bird.
A great blue heron strutting along.
Alligator Alley trail was finally opened after being closed for 2 years. When Hurricane Irma came through in 2017, part of the trail was washed out. The county finally rebuilt the trail and it was great to walk down it after all that time.
The view along the lake.
The marigold were still out in late November, washing the trail in yellow.
I knew it was going to be a beautiful morning when I walked out on the trail to this.
After 12 years of coming to Circle B Bar Reserve, I still love walking these trails even with all of the dead trees in the background.
Things close to the trail, although I cropped up the one with the big gator so he wasn’t that close.
An alligator cruises by a great blue heron.
The view from the blind on the dock.
Sitting on a bench near the nature center before heading home.
I had just replaced my old iphone with a new one days before so I was taking lots of pictures with it.
Walking out on the trail at Circle B Bar Reserve, the fog was just starting to lift.
On the other side of the marsh, the sun was trying to break through.
Great blue herons in the fog.
A few critters along the trail. That big one always sleeps in that same spot across the ditch.
Lots of the usual birds along the trail.
A bright red flash of fall in the moss. It usually starts to look like fall around here in January.
Across the street from Lisa Falls is one of the entrances to the Little Cottonwood Canyon Trail. We only did a short hike since it was getting close to lunch and we were already hungry.
We came across a river with a little bit of water flowing so we followed it for a while.
We saw these red bugs all along the trail but I couldn’t find any info on them. Does anyone know what they are? They were everywhere.
More from our hike in Little Cottonwood Canyon in October.
We headed out early in the morning driving through Cottonwood Canyon. Our destination was Donut Falls. It was an easy mile and half hike up the mountain and the weather was cool. We took our time, stopping to take pictures along the way. The trees were beautiful and we saw only a few other people. I had read that during the summer months the trail has traffic jams with so many people so I’m glad we were there in the fall.
We should have known there would be very little water at the falls due to the drought but it was still worth the hike. We didn’t feel like sloshing through the water to get to the cave that has the hole where the water comes through so no donut fall shots. We worked up an appetite and headed back to Park City for a late lunch.
Linking to Wednesday Around the World.
The squirrels were busy grooming and eating.
Plants along the trail.
Roadblock on the trail. I was almost all the way down Marsh Rabbit Run trail when I saw this. My choices were to sit and wait and see if he moves or turn around and go back. I sat down on trail for about 15 minutes when a park ranger came from the other side of the trail in a cart and spooked the gator off the trail. The park ranger said he slept there for over 2 hours the day before. I probably would have given up and turned around after half an hour if the ranger hadn’t come by. That little moorhen was not as close as it looks in the shot. He was busy preening and ignoring the gator.
Linking to Wednesday Around the World
I got to Circle B Bar Reserve just after the sun came up but it was hiding behind the fog. There were a few people already there but the crowds don’t usually come until closer to lunchtime. I love it when it’s so quiet. Only the birds and ducks were making noise.
The fog was really thick this particular morning in early January. It did not burn off until I was leaving.
Bald cypress trees in the middle of the lake. All of these were taken with my phone.
Lizards, snakes and alligators, Oh my! And a cute squirrel too.
The sun coming up over the trail in the “not so early” morning.
On foggy mornings you can really see the spider webs. You don’t notice them when the sun is out. Everything is covered in them.
The light was bad but it was fun to walk around in the fog. At least it looked like winter even though it didn’t feel like it.
The cypress trees are starting to turn colors (it finally looks like fall here) but the little one was completely covered in webs. I’m not sure if that will kill the tree.
I was driving over to Lakeland in early January to walk at Circle B Bar Reserve. The sun was just coming up in Tampa and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The closer I got to the park, the foggier it got. I was bummed thinking the light was going to be bad for taking pictures. It was challenging to get any bright shots but it was cool to see the reserve all covered in fog. It felt like I was in a different place. The fog eventually burned off some time after 10 and the sun came out.
Is it fall yet?
Butterfly
Weird things hanging off the fir tree.
End of summer.
Extremely cropped. A bee eating a dragonfly or the other way around?
The boardwalk was covered in creepy spiders.
Green on green.
End of season.
Fir in the swamp.
Taken with my phone. Sun peaking through the trees on the trail in the early morning.
More from my hot steamy walk at Lettuce Lake Park.
