Howdy all! It has been a hectic time as of late, but starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel – granted, Linda frequently tells me to stay away from the bright light in the sky. Fortunately, this one comes from the lightening of the schedule. One more major dog show next week (Canine Performance Dog Nationals) in my hometown of Springfield. After that, home for a good spell so I can go into beast mode training for the daunting 50K in early July. In the bustle we did manage to hold an Intrigued bird outing last week that was quite productive…at the cost of HR berating me about an office full of “Warbler Necks”. More to come on that front. For now I am going to focus on getting packed while Brad takes you to the water’s edge. Quick note, one of the locations mentioned happens to be where a similar encounter left me prematurely grey!
Take it away Brad…
We learned a very valuable birding rule of thumb: Be very aware of your surroundings. There can be rocks, uneven ground, water, mud, camera equipment, snakes, holes, birds nesting on the ground, etc. All of the above can be an inconvenience if encountered, or perhaps even painful. But none of those can really ruin your day like today’s topic. Since we encountered this subject all over South Carolina, I’m going to take you to many locations for today’s story.
One of our first stops was Jarvis Creek Park. It is a very nice park with many hiking paths including a 1-mile paved walking path around the central pond. The park was full of families picnicking and having fun. Dogs were pulling their people all around the path.
After about halfway around the pond, Jan came across something that had its eye on the tourists and small critters on leashes. I was up on the footpath talking with someone walking their dog, a boxer named Oscar if I remember correctly. Jan walked down the bank by the water to get this photo.
Want to see more spiky creatures (you know you do), hit the jump!
Continue reading Can be Bite-y…by Brad Marks