Morning mosey

Some of us met to do a morning hike at Radnor Lake. When I left the house, the chance of rain was only 30% and the sky was lightly clouded. But the moment I turned in to the parking lot, the sky broke loose. We hunkered down on the covered porch while debating whether to call the hike off, but eventually the rain ceased and we decided to go for it.

I left my camera in the car in case the respite was only temporary, but in fact our hike remained dry. We took our time; perhaps the rain had thrown us out of our usual rhythm. We started by crossing the spillway over to boathouse. The storm had left a few low clouds behind that crowned the hills behind the lake. We stopped to admire the view, and a tree with each twig tipped in shining water, and an early-blooming lilac. It is wildflower season, and one of our number was an experienced naturalist and named for us rue anemone, dutchmen's breeches, and pussyfoot flower. We saw even more animals out that usual, perhaps because there were fewer people - a dozen each of deer and turtles, including one elderly turtle crossing the road, but also a pileated woodpecker and more common creatures like yellow millipedes with their reek of almonds.

All in all it was a very satisfying hike, and, of course, none of us had our cameras with us to capture it.