Bicentennial Woods Nature Preserve

After a long work week , I decided I deserved a good hike. I chose Bicentennial Woods for my destination since it's one of my favorite close-by spots and I was pretty sure I could zip my scooter there before the dusk closing time.I needed a good march, to breathe some good fresh forest oxygen and to refresh my eyes with some green. I knew the mosquitoes would be fierce, but I've been using the Repel brand eucalyptus and lemon spray which stinks really bad, but isn't loaded with Deet or other potentially lethal chemicals. I'm fascinated with the iridescence of some of the insects such as this damsel fly who sat still long enough for a photo. There were no wildflowers visible but everything was a bright verdant green from all the recent rain and the temperature was refreshingly cool under the trees. I'm starting to find that I enjoy the early evening hours for hikes. You hear different birdsongs in the evening hours than you do in the afternoon, but I haven't identified them yet. I had the pleasant surprise of finding this doe lying relaxed but alert down in the muck. Of course she knew I was there long before I saw her. She took off after I snapped a couple of photos which were equally fuzzy. Under pressure I'm still not very good at quickly adjusting the settings on my camera. I was curious whether the bridge on the Eagle Trail has been rebuilt yet, but the mosquitoes were so thick that I opted out of the longer hike down to see. So, next time I'll check on the bridge. I am grateful for some of the gifts I've received from the men in my life. Rich taught me how to travel on the bike. I used to be totally hopeless with a map and I still have to study in preparation for a trip, but even while he was busily sowing seeds of doubt re: my safety if I ventured out alone, he was teaching me the skills I needed to do just that. And as for that rascal, he tried to teach me to seek out the simple things that are spiritually sustaining to me. In other words, he told me where to go, threw me in and left me to sink or swim.