Long Bridge Park - End of Winter Walk

     Mike and I love walking in Long Bridge Park.  I thought it would be nice to present the park during several seasons this year.  We didn't get any significant snowfall this winter, so the white, winter wonderland walk will have to wait until December or early 2018.  Right now, the trees are bare.  It still looks like winter, but hints of spring are popping out.

This is my favorite tree.  I commune with it every time I enter the park.  Where is the vine that caused the trunk to twist?  

Lots of pine cones.

Such a tangle of vines.

Nature's Braids

Mike is studying something.

I wonder who sat in this old tree stand.  Hunting in the park is forbidden now.

This fancy daffodil grows near the tree stand.  Did our hunter plant it?

I imagine that this old, dead tree might be home to a colony of bats.  This tree is a spooky, old thing in person.   

I call this the ladder tree.  If those branched hold, it would be easy to scamper to the top.

This female holly tree still has berries.  Holly berries are the last choice of birds, so the trees look pretty until all the other yummier species have been picked clean. 

Hollow trees are habitats for all sorts of creatures.

I love the peely bark of river birch trees.

Timber!  Hurricane Sandy wrecked havoc at Long Bridge Park.  Park Rangers clear trails, but anything else that falls is left to be reclaimed naturally. 

Leaves are starting to appear.

We were on the lookout for animals.  I'm pretty sure these tracks will lead to a dog.

What is living in this burrow?  It must be a pretty big critter.

The moon is just beginning to show itself.

The park is closed from dusk till dawn.  It's time to leave.