Thanksgiving in the Park

 

Sonoma County, where I live, has an abundance of beautiful nature parks. On Thanksgiving we were blessed with mild sunny weather and therefore we spent it hiking in one of my favorite parks, Crane Creek. I've written about this park several times - here and here for example - and this probably won't be the last time.

I always take a picture of the tree above in front of the vineyard.

We had just walked a couple minutes when we noticed a hawk high up in a tree. I'm not quite sure which hawk it is, but I suspect it's a Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Crane Creek is a great place to watch hawks and kites.

We walked for a while and then climbed up to a bench from where we enjoyed the view and listened to the many woodpeckers that were darting in and out of the surrounding trees.

We came upon a split tree - maybe the drought and then a storm cut the weakened tree open. This must have happened sometime during the past months, since the last time I was here.

Further down, a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) was resting on a bare branch. I have to admit that I have a great weakness for these graceful birds.

It's the trees that fascinate me over and over again in Crane Creek. There are native Oaks, California Buckeyes and California Bay trees, which have a wonderful scent. Many of them are covered with moss that waft in the wind.

There are many crooked tree parts to admire - branches and entire trunks. And those of you who have read my blog for a while know how much I love crooked trees.

Our loop finally let us back to this tree again, and when you look closely you can see "our" hawk on top of it. It was "following" us the entire time of our hike.

Back home we made some hot chocolate and covered our mugs with a Dutch Stroopwafel. The steam from the hot drink softens the caramel in the cookie - oh, so delicious! This is for T Tuesday that is so kindly hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

Next week I might miss T Tuesday because I will be on call for jury duty.