Saturday, May 02, 2009

Saturday Hike with Neil Taylor

Slide show of still pictures taken today

"Homer Watson Park offers a wonderful experience for the novice or the enthusiastic naturalist of any age. The park is rich in flora and fauna. Spring ephemerals such as Spring Beauty, White Trout Lily, Blood Root, Hepatica, etc., are abundant. Join Neil at his neighbourhood park, a special natural area, for an all morning walk on Saturday or an afternoon hike on Sunday. Wear sturdy footwear for the varied terrain. Binoculars and cameras are recommended..."

I have walked many trails in our region, but have never joined a guided group before today. Cheryl D., who comments regularly on this blog, invited me to join her for a hike sponsored by the Kitchener-Waterloo Field Naturalists. Neil Taylor, a retired teacher and enthusiastic nature lover who lives nearby led the group. I still have to go through my pictures to label them before I forget all I learned today. But for the benefit of any in the group who may stop by here, I have put a slide show together of some of my photographs. I believe my knowledge of spring wildflowers increased about 500% today! I will be posting individual edited pictures on my Flickr site. We also saw a number of birds including a couple of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a Great Crested Flycatcher, Yellow Warbler, Pine Warbler (heard), Great Blue Heron, as well as the usual suspects. One is never too old to benefit from a good teacher. Thanks Neil!

13 comments:

  1. Ruth,

    What a wonderful hike. So many beautiful photos on your slide show. I know where Homer Watson Park is and it would be great to take a hike there. I'm sure you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Blessings,
    Mary

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  2. Sounds like your group nature hike was a worthwhile experience. Looks fun from the video.

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  3. Happy for you that you could go AND have many, many pics!!! I like your new profile pic:)

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  4. What a fun morning to be able to walk with someone who knows the area so well, and who has so much wisdom to share.

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  5. Nicely done. You used still photos but all the panning and zooming made it very interesting.

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  6. Anonymous9:22 am GMT-4

    Thank you so much for allowing me to come along on this trip. I moved to Waterloo in 1999 and one of the first things I did to feel less homesick was join the KW Field Naturalists. I learned so much on the hikes with Neil and others--things I remember to this day about ferns and how trees communicate, the names of some woodland plants, etc. We don't have a group quite like it in Windsor, so it was great to get to join in this trip with you, if only through your blog.

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  7. I really enjoyed the slide show.Now I am looking forawrd to seing your individual pictures.This sounds like it was an informative activity.
    Blessings,Ruth

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  8. I loved the slide show. I'm amazed that so many of the plants are also found here in the NC mountains. Very nice post.

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  9. Very nice slideshow..I look forward to more pics and news of your hike.

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  10. Sounds like a perfect hike to me.......
    We are never to old to learn......

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  11. Great outing at Homer Watson park. The weather was beautiful (well for me how brave it with no coat), the company was great and Neil, a very knowledgeable man made the who outing memorable. I think it would take a life time to catch up to what he knows. It was overwhelming to learn about the different plant life growing here in our area. I just never knew.

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  12. Anonymous8:38 pm GMT-4

    I enjoyed the slide show Ruth..Isn't it fun to learn new things...

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  13. Sounds like a great hike. Maybe the time has come for you to lead a trip.I'd like to read about that. Have you led any trips in the past?

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