December might feel a little gloomy as the temperature continues to drop, the leaves have mostly fallen off the trees, and everything seems to turn brown. Bundle up and take a walk! You might be surprised by what you see.
I saw a few spring blooming flowers just this week! Bird’s eye speedwell, mock strawberry, Carolina geranium, and a single annual blue eyed grass flower were seen on the Shiloh Greenway. Dandelions, clover, Carolina jessamine, common chickweed and henbit are still blooming after being seen last month. The jessamine flowers seem to be slowing down after our 20 degree overnight temperatures. They’ll be back when the temperatures warm again.
I’ve seen a family of deer walking through the woods around the Shiloh Greenway on many occasions. It is a family of two adults and one juvenile. I usually seen them an hour or so after sunrise, or about an hour before sunset. In the last couple of weeks, I saw the hooded mergansers in the retention ponds. I haven’t seen them since the late spring. Mallard ducks are back in the ponds, too.
What are you seeing on the trails?