On the trail this morning, I watched these two jays. They were scouring a bank above the trail, I assume looking for acorns or other nuts.

I also had two big turkeys come up the hill to the side of the trail just as I was passing. I thought they were squirrels since the little rodents are always so noisy rustling through the dry leaves. The turkeys spied me at the same time I saw them, about 10 feet away. They stopped but scurried off before I could take a picture.

Including the ravens, robins, geese, ducks, chickadees, woodpecker, and one muskrat I saw today, it was a pretty wild 8-mile hike! It was cold too - about 25 degrees.

The trail is an old railroad grade and about a mile stretch is cut lower than the surrounding terrain and gently sloping downhill. When I entered this portion I noticably felt the temperature drop. I bet it was at least 5° colder than other parts of the trail. It was a great demonstration about choosing a campsite location - cold air can gather in lower areas, especially when there is no wind keeping it circulating.

Hike On