A Morning Walk

Today's post comes from Jen Ismirle, one of our summer interns. She writes about a lovely morning walk she recently had at Fenner and escaping the sounds of the city for just a few moments on our trails. 

After volunteering and now interning at Fenner for 6 months, I still had not walked around the trails beyond walking to the storage shed. So, a couple days ago, I decided it was definitely a must for me to explore all of the trails and see what I might find. If you haven’t already taken a look, here is a link to the trail map for Fenner: http://www.mynaturecenter.org/trailmap.

As I was told by naturalists at Fenner, the best time to see animals in the area is in the early morning or at dusk. I chose to go in the early morning to beat the heat, showing up not long after the trails open at 8am (and they are open every day!). I only saw two other people as I walked around the various trails, but I did see quite a few animals.

The first animal I encountered was by the bird feeders next to the Visitor Center – a turkey. Of course I saw many other various birds near the feeders, like chickadees. I also was surrounded by chipmunks at one point – 4 of them all around me, seemingly unbothered by my presence.

 

I had hoped to find some deer as I took some time to check out the observation blind, but what I found was a multitude of squirrels. The squirrels seemed very interested in me as a couple of them chewed on their food while staring at me at the same time as I walked by their trees. One even followed me, running to another branch to watch me as I meandered further.

Walking further along the trails left me feeling almost like I was in another world with the trees towering all around me. The sounds of the city were far away and it felt quite peaceful in the quiet, only interrupted by the rustling of small animals or the calls of birds. I especially loved stopping at the various ponds around Fenner to listen to the green frogs and the bullfrogs making sounds, which you can hear yourself here: http://youtu.be/2_X5Js_T-H4. I even found some turtles basking in the sun. 

 

So if you are looking for an escape from city life, even just for a moment, the trails of Fenner Nature Center will definitely provide this. Although I was accosted by a variety of insects at times (make sure to use bug spray before heading out on the trails!), I still thoroughly enjoyed my morning walk.