Chapel Hill, North Carolina
We enjoyed this woodsy walk along New Hope Creek very much! It reminded us of the land conservancy properties we were so fond of in Connecticut. This trail felt a little wilder and more remote than the other hikes we’ve been taking down here so far.
Still not encountering much wildlife, however, or birds. Sometimes I really miss my shore birds. I know there are birders down here who post many pictures online so I’m going to have to figure out where they go to take them.
What is the universe trying to tell me? How is it that this arachnophobe winds up moving to a place with an endless supply of spiders? This marbled orb-weaver seemed to be very busy repairing some damage this leaf did to her web. We watched, spellbound, for a very long time.
After this we got a glimpse of an owl flying across our path and then up high, out of sight, into the trees… It always amazes me how soundless their flights are.
All in all, it was a very pleasant autumn morning ramble along the creek and in the woods. 🍂
It must be fun having new territory to explore, similar woodlands, but different!
You might try finding birds here: https://ebird.org/about/resources/finding-birds-with-ebird
Thanks so much for the link, Eliza! I’m having fun exploring it. Do you use it to keep track of your bird sightings?
I am not an avid birder, but I like to use the Merlin app, which records your sighting/recordings.
I keep meaning to look into that Merlin app, but somehow never get around to it. One of these days…
So easy to use, you will love it, guaranteed!
Yay! 🙂
Nice walk, Barbara. You are consistent in your love for nature … and I can tell your eyes catch its hidden treasures.
Thank you, Frank. I do love seeing what I can find out there — it’s loads more fun than window shopping. 😉
You can’t discover if you aren’t looking. Cheers to you looking beyond the obvious.
Thanks, Frank! I know you are an observer, too.
“What is the universe trying to me?” I had to pause there because as I read those words I heard I was asking myself. And I heard an answer right away. It was strange that your words spoke to me.
Then I continued reading and wondered myself what the universe is trying to tell you about spiders. I still didn’t know that answer. Has an answer come to you, Barbara? And I wonder with a spider phobia how you could have the courage to photograph them and sort through graphics of them and write about it.
This I know: Spiders are everywhere. I don’t have phobia, but I don’t like them. The big ones like you photographed here give me a feeling of nausea in my heart. How can that be? How can one feel nausea in their heart? I don’t know. (I feel that only if I look at the photo).
I like the photo of the squirrel a million times more. Interesting color on the squirrel which is different from the squirrels here. And thrilled you saw an owl. However I’m perplexed too that you are not seeing the abundance of critters and birds in these wooded areas. Glad you are seeing the fall colors though. Good walk! I like being the lazy one sitting on your shoulder. 🍂🍂🍂
I’m used to getting messages from the universe through birds and animals, but spiders??? I hope you liked the answer to your question! But no, I have no idea. But I did find out from a botanical garden post on Facebook yesterday that there are over 700 species of spiders in North Carolina. Maybe it’s some kind of a test to see how much of nature I actually love.
I used to have trouble even looking at a picture of a spider in a book. Now I’m photographing the darn things. I still freak out when I see one in the house. I rarely saw them outside in Connecticut but they are everywhere outside down here.
I’m trying to imagine how one might feel nausea in her heart… I love the squirrels, too, and they might take the place of gulls in my life as frequent photo subjects. They’re very common and full of personality. Tim notices all the different reactions they have to the walnuts he rolls out to them.
Maybe it’s a coincidence and we keep missing the wildlife. But we’ll keep trying! 🍁
When I think about 700 spider species in NC compared to 40 spider species in CT then it helps me to understand why you are noticing so many! It is interesting that you are photographing them. Perhaps writing about them will give you an answer soon.
Yes, I’m that moment the universe gave me an answer that I much wanted to hear which eliminates one of my anxieties about aging.
I look forward to more squirrels. Is Tim feeding the squirrels walnuts at your home? If so how? Would love to see that. I have two regular squirrels frequently visiting my front yard, although I don’t have any feeders or bathed. It’s a female that I favor; and a male who is constantly chasing her for affection. She says no sir. But he doesn’t give up. I found myself trying to chase him off on her behalf. He ignores me too. I saw her eating a mushroom and a piece of bark. I have lots of unshelled walnuts, but when I put any type of seed or feed the ants immediately consume. So I stopped.
Yup, Tim is feeding the squirrels. 🙂 He’s almost through the first bag of walnuts he ordered and a second one arrived the other day. They are so very adorable. But he keeps forgetting to alert me when he’s about to offer them so I haven’t been able to get a picture yet. I will keep trying, though. The antics of your squirrel pair sound like a lot of fun to watch. We put some suet out for the woodpeckers but the crows chased them away and ate all the suet themselves. I’m pretty much done with the idea of feeding the birds here and will content myself with looking at the cardinals and Carolina wrens who like to find bugs in the bushes by my kitchen window.
Keep trying on the squirrel walnut Tom photos. It’s bound to come. Oh yes my uncouple squirrels are a hoot to watch. I will always be supportive of the females’ wishes one way or the other. You will soon be able to identify each squirrel by their own special coloring and personality. I give my squirrels names. Our woodpeckers are fewer than crows and prefer the trunks of trees so they are in harmony with each other. I prefer the birds eating the bugs! Barbara, I think you have found a wonderful place to call HOME!
Me, too! And I will keep trying to catch Tim and his squirrels!
That squirrel is so sweet Barbara, enjoying what I think is a Black Walnut? We have one tree at the Park which drops them but they have a green rind around them – maybe this is a later stage for the Black Walnuts? The squirrels rip the green rind off and leave the rind bits on the perimeter path, then tear into the walnut. Bliss for them and a blissful hike for you and Tim with the Fall colors. Those leaves look like burnished gold. Gee, that’s a steep staircase. As a fellow arachnophobe, I admit I would have a tough time standing that close to watch the web spinning of this big spider. However, I had a huge brown spider near the garage on the driver’s side and I watched it trap a bug and wrap it like a cocoon – interesting to see.
That probably was a black walnut, Linda, and I did see some large green ones in the vicinity. I found some local suggestions for leaf peeping that we can try for the next couple of weeks. The colors seem to be changing one tree at a time. It was a very steep staircase — I had to proceed very slowly and carefully because the steps were of varying heights. I wasn’t standing too close to that spider, I was using my zoom lens! I’m not that brave! They are fascinating to watch from a distance.
One tree at a time is different … our peak leaf-peeping they said was this weekend. That sprung up quite quickly as we had a lot of chilly weather this past week. I hit two parks today and I am off tomorrow, so will try another two before the wind whisks the leaves onto the ground. That’s how some of the steps are at Fairlane Estate. I went down the steep hill instead – they have left the steps to look as they did originally, with just a very spindly railing, but they are uneven, so I just didn’t take a chance on them. The webs are so intricate – I’m glad you were using your zoom lens. I’d never be that brave without the zoom lens either!
I don’t think we’re going to have a peak color time here! I’m looking forward to seeing your fall color pictures. 🙂
That’s a shame – I hope you enjoy mine then Barbara. First one will be Thursday.
Can’t wait! 🙂
I find spiders fascinating, but mostly from a distance! I certainly don’t want them in my house … or my car. Great photo of the little squirrel, and I like feeling sheltered beneath those pretty leaves. What a nice walk!
Oh dear, a spider in the car is especially disturbing as there is so little chance of getting away from it! I think squirrels will be what gulls used to be to me by the shore, fun to photograph with their different personalities. 🙂
We’ve walked from Nina’s house to the Johnston Mill Preserve. You’ll have to join us on that route sometime! I guess we don’t have peak foliage here, but we do have a beautiful fall with lots of colors spread around and you have an eye for finding the beauty. Nice spider photos! You’ll see the wildlife over time– lots of birds, plus squirrels, chipmunks, possums, racoons, foxes, snakes, deer, frogs and toads, little lizards, insects and the things I haven’t seen yet locally, but that have been seen by others: bears, coyotes, fish (I’m sure I’ve seen them, but I don’t get out on the water much). At the Durham Main Library I saw three squirrels playing together a couple of weeks ago. Maybe they were from the same litter because they weren’t chasing each other and they all huddled together. One day when I was at the library a hawk landed on the railing of the terrace outside the window. That was a treat.
The walk at Johnston Mill Preserve was our favorite so far, but honestly, the colors were just meh. I think that to see the aurora borealis you have to go to Scandinavia, to see the sunshine you have to go to Florida, to see the prairies you have to go to the Midwest, and to see fall colors you have to go to New England. I’m slowly coming to accept that! My daughter and sister-in-law, who were born and raised in New England and live here now, both advised me not to get my hopes up and they were right. So on to other things, I am bound and determined to find all the natural world has to offer here. Seeing that hawk up close must have been thrilling! We did get excited about that box turtle a couple of weeks ago and the other day the grandchildren spotted a gecko, but it was too fast for my camera. I think there is such a thing as climate shock, kind of like culture shock when one moves to a foreign country. Lately I have feelings similar to the ones of disorientation I had as a teenager after “landing” in Greece.