Hike at Little Red Schoolhouse

There are so many treasures to be found while hiking. Let me share with you a secret on how to get the most out of your hike: Walk slow and be quiet, scan the ground as well as both sides of the trail with your eyes as you slowly pass by, you’ll be surprised at how much you can find.
I found several treasures myself at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center last weekend:

First we have a comma butterfly. Even though this guy is considered common in my area, I still get excited when I spot one. He held this wonderful pose as I took his picture. Then he let me see his comma!

He was very nice enough to stay in this position long enough for another picture! Can you see his silver comma marking?

Next we have some type of fungi, I believe. Not sure what type, but it has a striking bright red color and interesting texture up close:

Ewwww! Gross but cool!

Finally, I kept hearing this tiny raspy call. I had to stand still and figure out where the noise was coming from, taking a few steps in the direction of the noise and then waiting, taking a few more steps and wait some more. But I finally found it…

Awww! Isn’t he cute! This little guy was calling for his mom to bring him more food. He was just a foot away from the trail and at eye level. When mom (Baltimore Oriole) came back with insects, she was NOT happy with the large human (me) staring at her young! Ok Ok! I’ll leave!

I had to sketch his little pouty face hungry baby. FEED ME MA, FEED MEEEEEEEEE! Mom did feed baby several times, flying back and forth from the forest in search of more treats.

Had my mission been to just complete a hiking trail as fast as I could for some cardio benefit, I would have missed all of these wonderful things along the way. As I sit her and reflect, I think that had I been with some people, talking along the way, I would have missed these things as well. Sometimes it is just nice to escape by yourself and be real quiet and surprise yourself with how many things you discover.