August 10, 2013 Cary Institute

     It was a nice day although a little humid.  Nice sun and pretty sky.  I was up early [2:30 am] to meet fellow members of my camera club for a sunrise photo shoot at Innisfree Gardens [at 5:15 am].  I didn't take many pix at the Institute so I've included some from Innisfree also.
     There were only five of us but we had a good walk.  Wappinger Creek was pretty high from the rain we've had recently, including Friday.    We followed the red trail along the creek and then three continued along the blue trail while two of us continued on the red loop back to the parking area and waited for them.  [I was pretty tired from walking around the garden and was very happy to sit and wait for the others.]
      Four of us ate at the Millbrook Diner.  The food was adequate but not great.

Queen Ann's Lace

there was a boardwalk at the beginning of the trail

uprooted

interesting berries

on the trail above the creek

moss covered

trail view

this one & the next two should be before the moss covered stumps-the blog photo input has a mind of its own

the creek was really rushing along

the red trail travels alongside the meadow

Hopefully the Innisfree pix will appear here

pretty pink sunrise

yeah, there's another one kinda like this one but I liked this one too

August 3, 2013 James Baird Park

      The day didn't look very promising at the beginning with light rain as we left Fishkill but we headed for James Baird Park anyway.  There were 13 of us who braved the drizzle [12 of us began together and John, who arrived a little late, did his own walk and joined us for brunch after].
      We're very fortunate to have Rich who is a living atlas of area trails [well, except for Mt. Taurus which was new to him].  So whenever he walks with us, we're happy to follow his direction; and he didn't fail us on this day.  In the past, we've walked mostly on the paved road; but today Rich led us through the woods on several different trails and it was excellent. 
       It did become a little humid as we walked but we managed and, thankfully,  the rain stayed away. The afternoon was quite nice.  After, there were 8 of us for  brunch at the Daily Planet, one of our favorite places to dine.

day lily near trail entrance

we took the trail to the right of this water tower

waiting patiently for the photographer to do her thing

one of several fungi we spotted this day

never saw one like this before

this one is a little more common

a view of the trail

the group posed for a picture

pretty ferns along the way

another fungi I'd never seen before

Rich told us about a trail where many people had placed stones on a fallen tree so, of course, we had to start with this tree

it's amazing how many stone walls we find on the trails we walk

another trail scene

we encountered several muddy spots

pretty woods

just walking along the trail

tree burl

another mushroom

view from one of the bridges

this bridge was in pretty bad shape

a different mushroom view

we walked a bit on the pavement and then took this last downhill thru the woods to the parking area

this one is out of place and should be before the rock picture

July 27, 2913 Bowdoin Park

     It was a beautiful day, a little warm [about 82 around noon] and not too humid.

     There were eleven of us for the walk.  It was really good to see Lucille, Karl and Jean who we don't get to see all that often.  It was a good walk although not that long.  Afterward five us brunched at Perkins.

hydrangeas at the beginning of the trail

another view

on the trail

Hudson view

barge on the river

the tide is low

little pond near river

another view of the low tide area and railroad bridge

another view of pond where we heard frogs 'conversing'

tree roots looking kinda precarious

more flowers

we walked back up to parking area throughn the shaded area alongside the playing fields

this felled tree was a big one

the pond near the fields

on the way home I saw this unusual rainbow