Touring the neighborhood

The other day I went for a walk to the park down the street. I am very lucky, because my house has a city park right behind the backyard, and another park just a block away! This is my green space, and it's a great place to go for a walk and get outside.

This time around, I decided to take some pictures to post here, since I'll probably write about going to the park as my main "rambling in nature", when I'm not taking a special trip somewhere else.

Enjoy your tour! We'll start with the park at the end of the street - it's a dead end street, so there are no roads bordering the park, just touching here and there. There's a nice asphalt path going around it.

Turning left...

 I love that there are a lot of trees here, and not just open space.

That wall of green behind the trees is concealing the bank of Coldwater Creek, which runs along one edge of the park. Here's a peek through that cover.

This is no clear mountain stream - it gets runoff from the airport, is a main drain for the storm sewer system - floods when there is a major amount of rain - and often has a chemical smell to it. But it's still a creek, and I'm very attached to it.

Looking back at where we just were...

There was some pink smartweed growing among the grass near the bridge.

Interesting contrast of pink with orange pine needles and green leaves!

Here's where you can cross the creek to get to the apartment complexes on the other side. We've often gone bike riding over that way. It's also the only place you can see the creek without having to peek between branches!

Here's a look upstream.

When the water's full of leaves like this, it really hides the trash nicely... But seriously, isn't that a lovely reflection?

It's hard to believe, but I've actually seen wildlife in here. There used to be mallard ducks, but they've been gone a long time now. More recently, though, I have seen turtles. Big turtles. I once saw several softshell turtles the size of dinner plates, sunning on the bank in one of those spots you have to work to see - and they heard me and slipped into the water right away. I've even seen signs of beavers - bare, chewed sticks, and a few beaver-chewed saplings. Beavers don't need to build dams or lodges if the stream is deep enough to swim in - they can dig burrows into the banks. (I've never seen that, but it's how they would be able to survive here.) And one time I saw what I think was a muskrat swimming - it was too small to be a beaver, I think, but it's been a long time and it's hard to remember.

This is why I peek through the trees as I walk along the bank. There's always a chance I might see signs of life in there!

Downstream side, looking down..

And further downstream, blocked by branches. Those didn't used to be there.

These chain-link-and-rock risers are there to stabilize the bank on either side of the bridge. I can remember when they were completely bare. Since then, trees have taken root in between those cobbles and grown quite big - that bank is definitely not going anywhere anymore! It definitely looks better disguised by all that green.

Just on the other side of the bridge, a few feet from the path, is a dead tree with a small hole in it, which is the home of a colony of bees! It's surrounded by bushes so it's not obvious to anyone who's not looking, but on warm days we can sometimes just stand and watch the traffic going in and out of that tree. We're always afraid it's going to be taken down, either because someone gets stung - it's not that far from the path - or just because it's dead and they don't want it to be a hazard. In the meantime, it's fun to check on the bee tree whenever I'm over there! This time it wasn't very busy, but I did see a few going in and out. Can you spot the hole?

I spotted this flower growing under another tree, across from the bee tree. I don't know what it is, but it had a pretty green fly on it!

Some of the honeysuckle bushes growing along the bank have been there for a long time...

 Back on the original side of the bridge, this field is to one side of the section with the trees and playground. I walked out that way and went a few blocks down and over to get back to my house. It's another dead-end street, so no traffic, and a lot of pretty yards.

This violet is a little confused. It doesn't know it's October, not April!

Here's the other park I mentioned - my house is part of that row you can see in the distance. It's a big field with trees at one end, and a few around the edges. These tulip poplar trees are really getting their fall color!

There is an enormous cottonwood tree back behind those oaks. It's got to be at least five feet in diameter. I absolutely love this tree. I can remember when there used to be a big old swingset underneath, and Joanne and I would do all sorts of reckless stunts, jumping out of the swings and pretending we were putting on a circus act. (All the good playgrounds get taken down. The park down the street is on its third playground.)

It's been hit by lightning more than once, and there aren't quite as many leaves growing up at the top, but it's still holding its own.

This massive limb is as big as the tree that is supporting it. It's missing half the bark on one side, yet there are green leaves growing out at the end. This tree is going to stick around for a while yet! And when it finally does go... I'm going to cry. I can tell you that.

I hope you've enjoyed this tour of the green spaces in my neighborhood! I will do a tour of the yard at some point, too!