My Journey and Experience of Nature's Beauty ~ Part II

(All photos taken by @paradigm42)
Nature's Beauty comes in so many forms. A secret glimpse of a flowing creek in corridor of fauna so thick you would not even know the creek was there if you could not hear it.

This long tunnel of greenery looks like a combination of a plant from the Ivy family, and a bamboo like plant that I am not familiar with. I do not think is native to this area.

Every year this plant takes over this part of the trail resulting in this nifty natural hedge maze effect for several yards along the water. It is definitely a plant that seems to thrive near water sources.

Light and shadows intertwined upon these Bracket mushrooms show beauty in a quiet corner of nature easily missed if not looking for it.

As today is #fungifriday started by @ewkaw, I present to you the majestic Crown Tipped Coral Mushrooms. I learned about these cool looking mushrooms from a great post @sketch.and.jam did for the initiative last week.

Not only are these fungi super nifty looking, they are also edible! For more information on taste and ways to prepare them, check out the post here:
https://steemit.com/fungifriday/@sketch.and.jam/fungi-friday-bleeding-mycena-q9bldbpq
It is an interesting post with some cool photos and a great blog to check out in general! :)

Here you can see why it is called Crowned Tipped Coral. To me they look like tiny turrets on a mini castle.

This seems like a pretty but rather common trail shot until you look a bit closer and focus on the sky. In the center right you can see a rather large bird in mid flight.

I think it might be a Pheasant but I am honestly not really sure. I did not even know it was there until I was looking at the photos later. I was lucky to have caught it as it was only in 1 of 5 photos. I wish I had seen it while on the trail but alas..

As the trail winds away from the creek and meanders towards it's end eventually coming full circle it becomes brighter and more open, with splashes of color from various wildflowers.

You soon find yourself in a lovely meadow where you can hear the chattering calls of small birds as they eat and socialise with each other unseen in the tall grasses.

A rather wide variety of wildflowers, insects and wildlife can be found hidden in this meadow. I have seen various types of bees, grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, small reptiles and amphibians. My dog Malcolm alway sniffs out little warm blooded critters such as chipmunks and the like but they always scurry away before I see them lol.

This pretty Blue Lupine was a hidden gem I found amongst the grasses. It is a favorite food of the endangered Karner Blue Butterfly.

As you move along the grasses seem to transform into a field of flowers.

A sea of Canada Anemones beautify the landscape here.

Now I find myself almost full circle, back to the beginning where the Wild Chervil flower I featured in part I has taken over a large area.

Though this pretty but invasive wildflower has taken over for the moment, its time grows short. In a few weeks it will fade away and the various indigenous flowers will take back their rightful place.

Just as I thought my meander through this beautiful place was done something caught my eye.

Ever so quietly and lightly I inched closer to get a better look and photos.

He or she did not seem to notice or care about my presence as I moved closer to this brightly colored and dare I say pretty frog.

Please let me introduce you to my new buddy the Northern Leopard Frog. They are aquatic and need to make their home near a body of water. They will hunt for small snails and insects in nearby meadows which is why I was lucky enough to see it!

As I come full circle and to the end of this particular journey, I will leave you a last glimpse of the creek that inspired the inception of this awesome nature trail. I hope you have enjoyed joining me here for a bit. If you would like to experience part I you can find it here.
https://steemit.com/landscapephotography/@paradigm42/my-journey-and-experience-of-nature-s-beauty-part-i
As always remember that it is all about the little things in life and thanks for looking in! :)

*Edited once for grammer mistakes. (Oops, it was late and I was sleepy lol.)