One weekend in April, Jim and I like to take off for a local state park as a way to celebrate the coming of spring. It’s also a good time to break away from the pressures of hard work and truly take time to breathe in the outdoors. We try to choose a time when nature is starting to come out of its winter nap and starting to show signs of growth. I call ahead to make sure there is room for us and then we start planning what we will take: books, magazines, good walking shoes and food are always a part of the picture. Then there’s also clothes for warm or cold weather since springtime is notoriously fickle. We also take umbrellas. We don’t mind hiking in the rain if it’s not a downright downpour. We have in fact used the umbrella to protect our barbecue grill on one cold and wet picnic. All our walking at Ox Bow Park is good preparation for the trails we will encounter at the state park.
Several years ago, we left for the park, ready for a relaxing couple days. After settling in, we went on our first trail around a lake, enjoying the sunset and fading light before calling it a day. The next morning, we woke up ready to tackle three trails that would take us through quite varied vegetation. We started at the foot of a glacial lake where a sign informed us of the potential wildlife we might see as we meandered on the trail. We were hoping to at least see a few bluebirds and maybe a blue heron as we headed to Bluebird Hill. Barely had we set foot on the trail when we suddenly heard a rustling at our side and a large black garter snake surprised us as it slithered through the swampy ground. Our trail led us through a beaver habitat and then into the forest. We steadily climbed until we reached the highest point of the park and had a birds eye view of the world around us. A series of wooden steps took us back down the hill and there we turned right towards Bluebird Hill, a wide open , rolling prairie with a small lake at its bottom. As we rounded a bend, we heard and then saw a huge bullfrog, sitting in our path. We skirted around it and almost ran into two deer dashing across the trail. They seemed as startled as we were, neither of us knowing who was intruding on who! The path continued around the prairie and then followed the edge of a wood. As we trudged up the hill, just ahead of us something caught our eye. Laying halfway across our path was a snake. It seemed to be sunning itself in a little patch of grass on the trail, its tail hidden from sight in the taller grass at the side. This snake was no garter snake. It had an identifying mark on its head and a very specific marking on its body. Even though Jim and I are both scared of snakes, we couldn’t help but stop and look at this special one. All of sudden we realized that the patterns on it looked familiar and we knew we had seen this snake before: it was one of the animals listed on the sign at the beginning of the trail, an endangered species, the Massasauga rattlesnake. We gulped and Jim calmly walked around it, while I tried to figure out how to get by it without getting closer than I could. I finally made it around. As we continued on our journey, we marveled at the sight we had just seen and decided to go back to the beginning of the trail and make sure of what we had seen. After reading the poster again, we took a well deserved break on a wood bench at the edge of the marsh. We thought we had seen enough snakes for one day when all of sudden we heard another rustling noise, and right behind us, on a reed, we found numerous garter snakes, coiled and writhing around. We both looked at each other and ran back to our place, happy to be inside and away from snake habitat. That weekend we also saw wild turkeys and sandhill cranes. And we discovered in talking to the ranger that a Massasauga sighting is a very rare thing indeed. We count ourselves lucky despite our fears!
To calm ourselves down after this thrilling hike, we grabbed some cups and had some tea. Sitting there sipping, we finally reached our relaxation levels. So today I leave you with no recipe but just some advice: always look before you step and remember, tea is one of those comfort drinks to enjoy with someone you love. Take the time this week!
No comments:
Post a Comment