A Wednesday Walk With Malcolm Along The Wetlands

(All photos taken by @paradigm42)
A couple of weeks ago give or take, the munchkin and I took a walk down a pretty and interesting trail that runs along a large stretch of wetlands, marsh, and woodland areas. The entire trail runs two miles pretty much in a straight line one way, so would be 4 miles round trip to complete. As it was rather unseasonably warm out, we only did about a two mile round trip that day and these are some shots on our way back.

The trail runs along old turn of the 20th century railroad tracks. This particular rail line was decommissioned sometime in the 1930s or 40s. If you look closely you can see the old wooden planks that the metal train rails were layed down on. It is an interesting feature of this trail that distinguishes it from other nature trails in the area. In the summer the trees and plant life make it seem like you are walking through a tunnel created by nature.

There is a very vibrant ecosystem with a large variety of animal, plant and insect life here. I have seen evidence of beaver and muskrat activity, and have seen several different types of snakes. There are of course your usual Squirrels, Chipmunks and the like. Malcolm spends most of his time trying to find every critter he can smell and has a grand ol time doing it!

I have seen many types of small birds and even some larger ones including Redtailed Hawks and Piliated Woodpeckers. There are also several types of water fowl that spend time foraging in the water and even make their home for the warmer seasons here including, Canada Geese, Ducks, and even the occasional Blue Herron.

As Malcolm leads me back to the car still a good 1/2 a mile away. I always find myself grateful to live in an area with access to wonderful opportunities to get out in nature, away from the sights and sounds of human activity on trails like this.
This post has been inspired by @tattoodjay's awesome #wednesdaywalk initiative. I would have liked to get out with Malcolm today, but alas it is a cool, damp and dreary day here. I hope you enjoyed my walk from earlier this spring and as always thanks for looking in! :)