A Sunny Winter Walk in the Woods

| Allison

Hello, friends!

Today I want to take you on a virtual walk through the forest with me. ❤ I found so many odd trees, lovely ferns, and pretty creeks on my little hike the other day. I haven’t traipsed around our farm like this by myself for quite a while, so it was really fun and refreshing to soak in a warm February day and take photos of the interesting bits of nature I discovered.

Enjoy this sunny winter photoshoot!

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Guess who came with me? Yep, Maggie the ever-faithful (sometimes a bit too faithful) yellow lab.

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Have you ever seen a praying mantis nest? They’re often on Christmas trees – once we got a tree with one of these “ornaments” attached (no extra charge!), and days later found dozens of tiny praying mantises crawling all over our hall. O.o It was quite a memorable experience.

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Nothing heals the winter blues – or rather, grays – like a luxurious patch of green moss glowing in the sun. Ahh.

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Look at this neat twisted branch I found! The ferns adorn it nicely.

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At one point along the creek, the two banks were stitched together by rows of parellel tree roots. You could lay a rug or a mat over top and make yourself a bed!

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OOH GUYS! I found a triplet tree! I couldn’t resist climbing up in the little seat between the trunks for some self-portraits. I had to hang/wedge my camera in a sapling further away since I didn’t bring a tripod, hehe.

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Here’s a picture of me smiling at the camera through my rather wind-blown hair because how fun is this tree seat?!

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Another beautiful tree. This one is a beech that looked almost white in the sun. I think it was mostly hollow, judging from this large hole way up and another hole at the base.

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I found a small fluffball of what looked like Spanish moss on the ground. Which is weird, because that mostly grows farther south than I live. Does anyone in the southern United States know if this actually is Spanish moss?

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I also found a log lined with ruffled lichen in a pretty purple-gray tone. Isn’t it amazing that God made even fungus so beautiful? What a world we get to live in!

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It hasn’t snowed for a couple of weeks now, but I found a small remaining patch of icy snow by the creek. I wonder how much longer it will last.

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I spent a while photographing this little waterfall at fast shutter speeds. Isn’t it funny how intricately textured water can be at spots like these, and then how glassy smooth at others?

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As I was photographing the creek, I found these fascinating icicles hidden under the overhanging bank. It’s a little hard to tell from the picture, but their shape was almost that of a sword blade, or else four-sided, like a quartz crystal, rather than the usual round stick of ice that hangs from house eaves.

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I’m not sure why I’m keeping a picture of this wasteland, but… I dunno, it struck me as picturesque when I walked by. The whole landscape looked bleached and tired in an almost peaceful way.

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I also couldn’t resist capturing the shades and gradients of these clay hills. You never know what will catch my fancy, haha.

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Ooh, I like this one: Maggie peering through a bunch of dried goldenrod. The light is gorgeous!

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Speaking of pretty light, I kept noticing how the sun would catch a few leaves of ferns or vines throughout my walk. I absolutely loved the way these hidden gems glowed, especially against a dark background like the middle photo.

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Something about this dried grass and broomsedge appealed to me. I think I could have gotten some quite nice photos if I was photographing someone else instead of self-timer-ing myself, but I’ll settle for this.

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Why are pinecones so photogenic? I mean… why? I’ve taken so many photos like this one.

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Or this one. There’s just something about a single pinecone…

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Ooh, I love this photo. It’s just such good quality! My D7200 camera and 50mm lens worked together beautifully with the almost-golden-hour light.

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Fun fact about me: I LOVE finding mushrooms on walks! So of course this discovery made me very happy. The caps’ textures were almost glazed or sugary-looking. (Don’t worry, I didn’t taste them.)

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Another favorite tree! I think I’ve posted about this one before, but there’s one tree on our farm that grows across a creek and straight up the other side! It’s always hard to capture with a camera but amazing in person. Can you spot Maggie in the picture?

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A sparkly photo of… gnats! Yay! I like to call them fairy dust instead because they look so magical in pictures, however annoying they are in real life.

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By this point I had nearly finished my walk, the light was turning golden, and the woods were… ah, just look! Can you see all those ferns glowing in patches on the ground?

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We’ll end with an amusing picture of Maggie feeling… I’m not sure what she’s feeling. Caption this photo in the comments! 😛

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Welp, that was fun. Thanks for joining me on my walk! 🙂 I hope you’re able to get some fresh air and sunlight this week despite the chilly weather. It might just do you good.

What was your favorite of the strange trees? What do you think is going through Maggie’s head in the last photo?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

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41 thoughts on “A Sunny Winter Walk in the Woods”

  2. Hehe, I think mom and I went on a walk in the same place! Nellie got up in the triplet tree when we went 🤣! Ooh, the lighting is so pretty, and Maggie’s picture is so hilarious, I would caption it, “Hmm… it’s got to be in there somewhere… maybe if I just close my eyes…”
    -Carmen

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    1. Yay, I’m so glad you liked the photos! Ooh thank you – I really like that one too. Hehe yes, I hope you can find one! They like evergreen trees for some reason.

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  12. Interesting fact: Pileated woodpeckers drill rectangular holes like the one in that birch tree, but they mostly like old dead woods and pine mixed woods. Honest I would love to go walk in the woods behind my house, but I’m terrified to – for one I don’t have a dog to protect me, and two, my husband said the last time he went looking he accidentally disturbed a wasp nest and they chased him all the way to the house (one got in the house too). Also we have poisonous snakes – they could be hiding under the leaves or wherever! 😦 but it was really nice to take a virtual walk with you and your dog 🙂

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    1. Wow really? I believe I’ve seen a pileated woodpecker once or twice on our farm; they’re magnificent. Oof, that sounds pretty scary. Wasps and snakes… I am NOT a fan. Maybe you’ll be able to take a walk in a safer space and find new beautiful things!

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  16. Hehehe praying mantis nests…I brought one inside once not knowing what it was…thankfully I put a lid on the jar before they hatched! 😂😂😂 They were pretty cute.

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  17. Pingback: Creative Juice #308 | ARHtistic License

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