Thursday, July 09, 2009
At about 6pm I parked at the nearby church and started walking. I’d planned to listen to some Thich Nhat Hanh on my iPod during the hike, but I left it at home, so it was au natural – not a bad choice, generally, unless there are too many unpleasantries on one’s mind and a diversion is needed.

It is really amazing that of all the deer seen regularly by hikers at Radnor Lake, so few of them are males. For whatever reason, bucks are so much more secretive and skittish than the female deer (does) – the bigger the antlers, the more rarely spotted, it seems. (Shouldn’t the males be more “manly” and brave? Who knows — perhaps the bucks have been hunted so much over the centuries, they actually “know” they need to stay hidden if they are to see another day. )

I was really taken aback when I realized this was a buck. He did not seem to be the least bit skittish even as I stopped to photograph him; he just kept munching on greenery. Sweet!

As I type this, I am watching a DVD that is bringing back all sorts of memories; perhaps some of you have been around long enough to remember some tunes from the early 1970s, and you might even remember a killer live music showcase called Bert Sugarman’s Midnight Special.

Legendary Performances – 1973 is playing, and it’s fantastic– among the featured live performances are Listen to the Music (The Doobie Brothers), Bad Bad Leroy Brown (Jim Croce), Bang a Gong (Get It On) (T. Rex), Your Mama Don’t Dance (Loggins & Messina), Hold Your Head Up (Argent), Delta Dawn (Helen Reddy), Reelin’ in the Years (Steely Dan), Summer Breeze (Seals & Crofts), Danny’s Song (Anne Murray), and Frankenstein (Edgar Winter Group). My little sister used to drive me batty singing Delta Dawn! Alright, back to the task at hand.

Apart from deer a-plenty, the only other sighting of note was a majestic, statue-still Great Blue Heron in the section of Radnor Lake on the south side of Otter Creek Road, back at the section where the trails come out onto the road. The great blue heron is one of two species of heron commonly seen at Radnor Lake, the other heron being the Green Heron – a much smaller bird. Both species are likely to be seen at anytime, as they stand still and wait for fish to come close enough to be snagged.

The Green Heron has an elongate neck, but not nearly as long as that of the Great Blue Heron. In the standard pose of the Green Heron, the neck is usually not outstretched.

On the far east side of the lake trail, not far from the bridge, is a large tree with a perfectly round hole in it, not more than a couple of feet from the ground. I have often wondered what made this hole and/or what lives inside there now. It seems a little low to the ground for birds…

The area with the most apparent beaver activity – though mostly old activity – is also near the bridge on the far east side of the lake trail, just off Otter Creek Road. Here one can see at least five old beaver dams.

Unfortunately, I have yet to actually observe beaver here in this area, but it seems many other hikers have.

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