Walking the trails and road in the wildlife refuge during the summer can be challenging due to heat, high humidity and a large number of mosquitoes which live there. It’s always nice when the weather cools down and the mosquitoes hibernate or die. Then, it is possible to walk at a slower pace and take the time to enjoy the sights.
“So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.” ~Brenda Ueland
walking on a country road 
Very nice images. Eagles in Tennesee? Full time or just winter?
Thanks! These are located near the Mississippi River. Some are here year round, but there is a larger population in the winter.
Good to know. Thanks.
So full of life!
Yes, the bird life is plentiful at this time of year. You never know exactly what you’re going to see.
Beautiful array of critters and nature.
Thanks! Always something interesting to see. 🙂
Very nice photos Rebecca and I know it is a blessing once the heat and humidity leave and you can enjoy the woodsy settings near the water again. We have had mosquitoes and ticks on the rise the last few years so you’re afraid to stray too far into woodsy setting and always needing to do so with long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. We had a new wildlife refuge open on the Detroit River last October. I visited it three times in late Fall and have not written about it as I still have to sort through the many photos from the three visits. I am really looking forward to when everything is green and the trees leaf out and returning to enjoy walking there.
In the summer if you stop to take a photo in these woods, you can almost hear the mosquitoes laughing as they dive bomb and attack. Sometimes, my husband stands guard and shoos them off while I try to get a photo. I’ve decided it’s not worth it. I’m looking forward to seeing the photos you took of the new wildlife refuge. Did you see much snow from the big winter storm that is currently passing through? Yes, spring sound pretty good right now. 🙂
I know – it’s terrible. I don’t like putting on spray or oil as I don’t want my fingers greasy or having residue on them to use the camera. When I go to bigger parks I always look for deer and the one time I was lucky enough to see three fawn up close and they were near a swamp and the mosquitoes were terrible, just eating me alive. I finally had to just leave and hated it as they were so cute and what a great photo opportunity. This new refuge has a lot of neat features, like outlooks to sit in Adirondack chairs, wheelchair accommodation throughout and one outlook that looks like a “blind” as it is covered in branches and twigs. They put a lot of effort into it and the fishing platform juts way out into the Detroit River – half of it is a natural setting along the waterway and through a 300-year-old forested area and the rest is very modern. We have just had a couple of inches of snow so far, but later in the week we have a wintry precip and then an Arctic blast, with temps 20 degrees below normal. We just had that bitter cold last week. I hope the Groundhog does not see his shadow so we can have an early Spring.
The new refuge sounds like a neat place to visit. Stay bundled up! That Arctic blast coming down this weekend sounds really crazy.
I hope to get the posts done in March – I’ll split them into to posts, one for each section. I got some up-close heron photos which I was happy with. He was fishing in an alcove and I kind of stumbled upon him. That brutal weather is not my cup of tea at all, plus a wintry mix to boot. I’ll be layering up more than usual!
A splendid set of images! I agree with you about the heat and mosquitoes, Rebecca, and I’ll also throw in dodging the redwing blackbird attacks in the spring, so autumn is definitely my favorite time for taking a walk.
Thanks, Sue! I’ve never experienced trouble with the red-wing blackbirds, but it certainly doesn’t sound very pleasant. Nature sure has a way of throwing kinks into our nature walks.