In early March Topeka had its first mild Spring day, so a celebration was in order—a bicycle ride along the Shunga Nature Trail and the paths around its small area marshes. Birds were in evidence, but no turtles or foxes were spotted, although they are known to be in the area. Warm sun, trees, grass, water & contrails in the sky made a pleasant outing. —Select a photo to see the larger version— |
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| Bark has moss gowing on it. It's about the only green to be seen in this area so early in March. | These trunks looked as though they had been "fried." Maybe they were burnt by lightning? | ||
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| This crawdad made his way through dry leaves to a running stream. He was the only wildlife I spotted on the ground. There were some birds, but no turtles, fish, or mammals. | A footbridge over some rapids in Shunga Creek leads foot traffic to the Crestview neighborhood from other nearby areas. | Tall grasses blew in a stiff, but mild, wind. Contrails in the blue skies above tell of air traffic over the Central Plains area. |
 A rickety pier gave access to one of several marshes in this nature area. |
 The end of the pier pushed well into a marsh pond, through tall marsh grasses. Little activity here, though. |
 Another marsh area has a dirt road passing between it and the stream into which this water empties. |
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photos © 2004
by Carol Yoho | Visit Acme-emedia
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