Tinker's Creek State Nature Preserve

Yesterday my husband and I went for a quick walk along one of the paths in Tinker's Creek State Nature Preserve. There are hundreds of acres in the preserve, which encompass lots of peaty ponds and marshland.

The day was mostly sunny, but cool enough for light jackets.

We came across an interesting fungus growing on the side of a tree:


And another tree which has fallen victim to carved graffiti over the considerable number of years it's stood there:



When Mother Nature colors, she doesn't stay within the lines:

Here's one of the many swampy pond areas that can be viewed along the trail:

Duckweed covered some of the smaller ponds:

And there were areas covered with a thick, mossy carpet:

We came across two battling wasps. These weren't your everyday, run of the mill wasps. These were as long as the tip of your index finger to the second knuckle, and almost as big around.

They meant business:

And we came across a lethargic snake. If he was trying to soak up some of the last rays of the sun, he was doing it wrong. Or he just didn't have the energy to move into the sunlight. I feel like that sometimes, too:

We've seen snakes like that around the pond in the little city park next door. The thing is, if the parks people see them too, they tend to disappear. They don't want any run-ins with the little leaguers or soccer players, or maybe other people see the snakes and complain about the wildlife infringing on their playspace. I don't know. All I know is that snakes aren't allowed by our little pond.

It's a shame, because once there was a large one which looked like a sea serpent when it went fishing. Very fun to watch. But he went the way of all snakes in the forbidden zone. There one day, gone the next. Poor snake, but I'm sure the fish didn't mind.