It had been a couple of weeks since we had been up to see the progress of the nature center under construction near our house. The new center will be the headquarters for the 200+ acre nature preserve behind our property. So, I grabbed my camera and my big floppy sun hat and hit the trail - joined by my daughter and niece.
This is a most exciting development, as our property is directly behind this sign.The poison oak behind the sign should also keep out the riff-raff.
Many wildflowers are still blooming
Some have finished
View southeast from the top of Cooper Mountain
The girls leave the old lady behind on the trail
The nature center has placed many birdhouses in the fields to attract blue birds
Nature Center building is near completion. Last week a play structure was installed.
The parking lot is being paved
Landscaping is nearly finished
We hiked four miles around the trails, including a stroll past the "pond" - an old rock quarry that is home to a rare frog. We saw lots of tadpoles in the water, so hopefully they won't be rare for long. Otherwise, we didn't see too much wildlife - but we did find a big turkey vulture nest. Suppose they are relatives of the one we smashed on a highway in Texas in April?
Until my next update, I remain, your natural correspondent.