Monday, January 14, 2013

Foggy River Walk

 Foggy and warm today.  Not the nicest kind of weather for a walk in the woods through soggy snow, so Sue and I met at the Betar Byway in South Glens Falls, where we could walk on cleared paved paths and watch for bird life along the Hudson River.  And as soon as we stepped from our cars, we scattered a flock of bluebirds, who flew too far away for us to take their photos.

When we heard some crows making a raucous din, we hoped we might find the eagle or hawk they could be scolding.   But no, no eagle or hawk that we could see.  Just lots of very vocal crows, all  congregating on a wooded island to share their news of the day as it darkened toward evening.




It wasn't raining, but the fog deposited droplets on the masses of tangled vegetation that lined the path.




In the dim misty light, the landscape seemed drained of all color, except for these splashes of brilliant red where woodland creatures had feasted on bittersweet berries.





No creatures had feasted as yet on the seeds of Basswood trees, whose branches silhouetted againt a gray sky appeared as elegant as Chinese ink drawings.



4 comments:

catharus said...

'Haven't seen the remains of eaten bittersweet berries like that before! I like the shot of the basswood.

Jacqueline Donnelly said...

catharus, my friend Sue suggested that these red messes were the remains of sumac berries, but the color and texture is more like that of the bittersweet, since the sumac berries are fuzzy and a darker red. But it's odd how they would be all clustered together like this. There were similar clusters in the snow all along the walkway. Lord knows, the bittersweet was an abundant resource -- unfortunately, since the vines were smothering many of the trees.

catharus said...

Yes, it sure looks like bittersweet.

Cathy said...

Woodswalker.

I drop in at Mariannes. Your comments are so thoughtful and lovely . . . .

as is your photography.

Oh my.

m so in-turned, lately, that it feels good to pat another soul on the back . .

even if they don't need it :)