The Prairie Trail

My little nature park has two main trails.This time I decided to visit the one I usually avoid, the prairie trail. I don't usually go on this trail because there aren't any trees along it. It cuts through the grass. There's usually not much here except that grass and a long walk, but I found a little bit to share this time.

This trail used to go in a circle back into the woods and join up to the other trail, but a fallen tree across the path at the edge of the woods stopped them from maintaining the trail in that area for some reason. These trails have really deteriorated since that first year I visited this place. It's a shame. I just have to assume they had no choice in the matter.

The first things I saw were lots of rabbits relaxing in the shade of some of the few trees on this side of the park. These pictures were cropped heavily because the rabbits weren't nearly as close as they look here. I had to do something so you could see them as more than dots. The rabbits ran as soon as I got anywhere close to them.

here's another rabbit that wasn't far from the first one. I have to say that the rabbits weren't limited to this area. You can find them all over the park. This just happened to be where I was this time. Many of these rabbits are juveniles. The rabbit parents were apparently very busy last spring.

This gnarled old tree is probably the main attraction on this trail. It makes kind of a nice looking picture, but there isn't much more on the trail. Now maybe you understand why I usually go the other direction. This trail is nice to hike everyonce in a while though.

This last picture shows the same tree from the other side. From here I am standing near the woods at the end of the trail. I really hoped I could get through there to the other trail, but the path is blocked too well to make it.

I even tried to go a little farther in the woods to maybe find the trail on the other side. My poor nonathletic dog protested greatly when I made her climb over that really big fallen tree. She hated it even more when only a few minutes later she had to climb back again.

Maybe this post sounds kind of bleak, but I really did see more on this trail. I'll show some of it in my next post. It really was worth the hike. I think I'll be going the other direction for awhile though. I keep hoping I'll see a deer or something one of these times. I'll talk to you later.