Cedar Valley Nature Trail

I had occasion to travel to Cedar Rapids the other day (more on that, later) and with a little time to kill, did one of those impulsive things that logical and methodical people such as I are not wont to do...I pulled across five lanes of traffic and took an exit just north of el citio biggo that had one of those comely brown signs, "Cedar Valley Nature Trail."

This is particularly hard to do seeing as there are only two lanes. Feeling wontish nonetheless, I did pull off and I did follow signs.

The parking lot was practically empty and I proceeded to carefully remove my camera, keys and cell phone from the car before commencing lockage. This was when I discovered my jacket had absolutely NO pockets. Luckily my stretchy pants did.

Putting your keys and cell phone into stretchy pants rather negates any winsome effect of said pants, but enough about me.

On to my walk.

The path went through a suburban woodsy area and right away I spotted this fellow...
An Eastern Towhee! Zowee! I have never SEEN one of these. I know they are probably common as mud but I think he is a gorgeous fellow. And I don't say that about just any guy.

Next I ran across this lovely looking Bottlebrush Grass, Hystrix patula.
I used to think grasses were common and ordinary. Having a camera has helped to open my formerly blind eyes.

At this point I came to a break from the trees and the trail seemed to be heading alongside a road.

With traffic.

I walked for about a block and as the city was becoming thicker I decided I'd hit on the very end of the trail and was about to turn around when I saw not far away a sign which read, Rockwell Collins Building 126.

"Hmmm," I thought..."I wonder if that is where Ardith works...." I walked closer and didn't see her car immediately and then I thought it MIGHT be fun to walk around the other side of the building and see if I could spy the Green Wonder Jetta (it was ante-get-off-work-time, see) and then I thought of her security clearance and wondered how hard it would be to set off her car alarm....and then I did the sensible thing and turned around.

Back amid more woodsyness I found this beautiful little flower....
...Showy Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata. Also called "The Sleeping Plant," this pretty legume has touch sensitive leaves that will fold up when....mmm, touched.

Unfortunately I did not find this out until after coming home. Clearly I will have to make a return trip in the next week or so and carry out this scientific experiment.

Here we see a flowering tree with a few blooms still clinging to it's branches.
It's probably some quite ordinary tree, but not knowing exactly what, I'll just call it, "Tree-with-reddish-flowers-that-Ma-saw-blooming-along-the-
Cedar-Valley-Nature-Trail."

At one point I stepped off the path and into the deep coolness of the small wood. It is incredible the sense of heart-swelling peace that comes over me in that kind of situation.

Or at least would have but for the excavator working half a block away.

Heard a cracking noise and looking up, saw this bushy squirrel chomping relentlessly upon a poor defenseless acorn.
I have yet to see a squirrel that doesn't look as though it is stuffed and mounted. They only look real when they move, which is most of the time.

Canadian Geese on the wing.
Here we see them in their typical italic 'L' formation.

A lovely time, that. Should tide me over for the next coupla days...
 

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