30 May 2015 An Unexpected Visit to Buzzard Swamp

We were hoping to visit Beaver Meadows for a walk along the trails and a chance to see orchids and bunchberry in bloom. We arrived at the parking area just as the rain started. Since this was our only chance this year to walk the trail while the flowers were in bloom, we decided to try waiting out the rain. We were soon joined by a member of the State Police. He pulled in along side and lowered his window. I really never worried about law enforcement pulling up as we were parking. ;) Um, not that type of parking.

It turned out the officer wanted to warn us the nearby youth detention facility had a couple "runners." He wanted to no if we had seen them. We hadn't. We gently asked if they were incarcerated for violent crimes. They had. After the officer left, we decided to pass on the orchids and bunchberry. We went off to find a different place to wait out the rain

We decided to visit Buzzard Swamp instead. There were a few caches there we hadn't found and lots of opportunities for wildlife spotting. There were dragonflies, frogs, and butterflies.

We spotted a few turtles,

and a snapper

or two.

The first snapper was unfazed by us. The second snapper decided Phineas was too close and leapt at him. A quick thinking Ali saved Phin from a serious injury. We had a good laugh watching the gold finches bathe in the puddle. It seemed a bit odd to see the female watching over the four bathing males. Maybe she was looking for the one actually bathing instead of splashing on Axe.

The trailside deer was quite unfazed by our presence.

The earlier rain of the day became a beautiful afternoon and evening.

We ended our day with a few caches and an osprey in nest.