Land Between the Lakes

The weather has been wonderfully and unseasonably warm.

Until this week. Today's high barely made it above freezing.

I did have a chance to go to Land Between the Lakes. 

And I take any chance I get when it comes to visiting LBL.
It was too cold to do much, but I did take a few pictures.

On our way to Hematite Lake, we saw the largest herd of Fallow Deer I have ever seen.

There were about 25 deer.

Fallow Deer are not native to this area. They were introduced for hunting.
Now, many of them live happily throughout Land Between the Lakes.

I thought this exposed root was cool looking.

The thrill of the trip was on the way home. As we drove north on the trace toward home,
I spied a Barred Owl sitting in a tree near the road.

 He (or she) was beautiful in the late afternoon sun. He seemed to be dozing.

Thanks for stopping by!

-Susan

Happy New Year!

Yesterday was a lovely, warm, sunny day. 

The kids, the dog, and I had a wonderful time playing in the woods. 

 The kids and the dog played in the creek.

 

Anything that gets Copper in the water is a fun game for him.

He even likes to retrieve rocks. Silly dog.

I found mushrooms to photograph. 

 

 I strongly suspect these are Deadly Galerina 

(Galerina marginata, previously known as "Galerina autumnalis").

 According to the Wiki article, Galerina means helmet-like.

I think they are pretty little things, even if they are quite poisonous.

Nothing makes me smile in the winter quite like the 

greens of mosses and lichens.

I even found some oyster mushrooms which didn't photograph well, but tasted pretty darn good.

Yesterday was a lovely finish to a good year.

Today, on the other hand is cold, windy, and gray. 

It's not my favorite kind of day.

But we are a day closer to spring!

-Shakerag Susan