County Hiking Challenge 2012--Hike 6/7

Today Mommy and I had a lazy day.  My hip was hurting (Mommy said my hip wouldn't be hurting so much if I hadn't decided to remove the skin tag on it at two a.m., but what can I say, it was bugging me.) and Mommy was still feeling tired from having had a migraine on Friday night so we slept in until 11:00 and then we went outside and Mommy did a little gardening (a very little) and then we took a nap outside on my sleeping bag until 3:00 and then Mommy decided we should take the hike closest to our house.  This preserve is about five miles from our house so up until last year we used to walk to it and then hike around it and then walk home about one Sunday a month.  If Mommy knew I was going to choose the preserve walk she would wear shoes and carry water and we'd do the whole preserve, but if she didn't know she wouldn't wear shoes or carry water and we'd only do this short hike we took today. When it got harder for me to do the whole long walk/hike/walk we would only do the whole preserve if Mommy drove.  Sometimes I still ask to take the walk/hike but Mommy says it is way too far for me now.

Anyway, here is the hike which takes you around a nice little wetland area on the south end of the park.

This preserve has a greenhouse by the parking lot because it is where they grow the wildflowers for the seeds that they need to restore other preserves.

Mommy and I can't figure out what happened to the left side of my jaw in this picture, but this preserve is a savanna meaning it is a mix of prairie and trees

The prairie part has all sorts of nice flowers like these little purple ones

There's also a lot of wetlands so the path has lots of boardwalks.

At least there SHOULD be a lot of wetlands, but due to the drought this summer most of the ponds and swamps are dried up. Mommy took this picture when I was taking the previous one.

Mommy and I are very worried about my friend Musky the Rat and his relatives who usually live here, in what should be a large pond. Where do muskrats go when their water dries up? Do they survive?

 The second boardwalk, this time over the non-existent swamp

Auntie Naomi, don't read the captions for the next two photos!

 Musky may be MIA but the snakes were out

 

 I promise, I saw a snake here

A little solid ground before we get to

 the third boardwalk by the second non-existent pond

Then it is back onto the main path.

If we had turned left we could have continued around the whole preserve, but I told Mommy I wanted to go back to the car, and since the official hike was the short walk anyway, back to the car we went. Now I think it is time for another nap.

Total miles 1.2.