April adventures

It's been a busy spring! Looks like spring is finally here, though - I wasn't sure it would make it. I'm thinking of starting a vegetable garden again. Haven't done it for awhile. I'm already starting to see alot of rabbits in the backyard, so I'd have to fence if I want the vegetables to make it.

During my trip to Kansas City I did some hiking in the Maple Woods area (part of the WildLands parks there). Too early for warblers or many flowers, but I did see turtles and some kind of big hawk. The trails are nice. I recommend it if you're in the area. I like the Blue River Glades too. I didn't take my bike, so I can't report on the bike trail conditions.

Out to buy mulch!

Spring is here

Finally the change in the weather we've been waiting for! Got out on my bike on a couple of local trails yesterday, and I expect to head out after work today. I've got some kind of nest being built in my car port eaves; I'll keep an eye on it. There were mallards and canadian geese on Wentz pond when I went by on my bike, but no wood ducks. Hope the weather holds through the weekend!

Kansas City

Business trip to Kansas City coming up at the end of this week. I'm hoping to take some time there on the weekend and maybe get in some hiking or visit a good flea market or two. I'll report back if I have any luck!

Great decoy collection online

Take a look at TJ Bailey's great collection of decoys! Good site for browsing. It will make you want to add to your own collection.

http://tjbailey.com/decoys/

Great weather this weekend!

This is more like it! Went out with a buddy to do some hiking in the Grindstone nature area. The run-off has the creek areas pretty high, so it's hard to do much rock collecting, plus it was very muddy. We saw alot of ducks, regular mallards and wood ducks. I don't yet have a wood duck decoy for my collection - I'm looking for a good one. We did the 3 mile trail, it's pretty easy. I recommend it if you want to see the different kinds of areas this park has to offer.

INDOOR flea market finds

Too cold for garage sales right now, but I did have some luck at an indoor flea market (Itchy's). They had alot of categories and alot of good mark-downs. I got some nice Time-Life series books with great photos, one especially good one on volcanoes.

I also found a small duck decoy that looked handmade to me. No moving parts, feather markings carved on, glass eyes. Nice condition, so I picked it up.

Maybe next weekend it will warm up and I can get out to some of my favorite hiking trails! Not enough snow for skiing anyway, and no ski trips planned for this month.

Getting Started

I'm a hiker who enjoys the outdoors and what you can find there. I'll be dedicating this blog to observations about nature, including comments on things both seen and collected. Some of my collecting, I have to admit, occurs in stores as well! If I find links to any good collections, I'll be posting them here.