WILD WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: EXPLORATION

First of all, if I get to be so busy between now and Christmas Day that I cannot make an appropriate post nor visit each one to greet you, allow me to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a blessed new year. We are spending the holy days with family in Maine and from the looks of it, we are going to have a white Christmas. The ground was still covered with snow when we arrived here after a long and rain stormy trip.

Letsbewild’s challenge this week is about Exploration. Woods surround us where we are. For the longest time, there was no visible house within a mile of us until two-three years ago when a house was built across the road. I have wanted to see the other part of the woods for sometime now – but I chickened out because during summer time, the area is full of bugs and mosquitoes. Meanwhile during around our Thanksgiving visit, the hunting season is on its waning days. Afraid that the hunters would mistake me for a rather big bunny, I decided to stay indoors.

This morning was the first chance I had to visit the woods. The sun was shining. I took a few minutes off from decorating the tree with my husband to take explore the woods before the rains come again.

Armed with a new camera (which I am trying to get used to), I let my booted feet sink in the snow and crossed the little meadow between the house and the woods.

There were dried weed stalks and flowers here and there…

…along with dried leaves. I have not yet learned how to use the Macro function of my camera. I may need a proper lens for that too.

Otherwise, I would have taken some Macro shots which I am actually fond of.

At last, I was in the woods.

I was surprised to see the trees planted in neat rows. Somebody planted these trees to serve as a screen between properties.

What was in the woods?

Fallen trees…

Where there are fallen trees, there would be stumps…

..very old stumps. See that moss covering it?

And there is new growth.

In this part of the woods, there is the swamp. My husband and his siblings spent many childhood days playing in this swamp. Today, it is half frozen and appeared really narrow. However, my feet crushed snow and found themselves in a pool of water.

I wish I could have stayed longer to wait for some wildlife. Earlier in the morning, we spotted some deer foraging at the edge of the woods. But I did not have that leisure.

I promised my husband I would only be gone for 15 minutes. I already stayed out for much longer than that. I did not notice that though. Time is short when one is having fun. But to the one expecting me to be back ‘shortly’, my 15 minutes were an eternity of almost an hour. Some people just don’t know how to wait! 🙂