Early Start


We got off to an early start today. Woke up at 6am, out the door at 6:15, and on the trail at Duke Forest at 6:35. That's very early in the morning for us on a weekend.

The deer like that time of the day a lot more than we do. I take small country roads to cut across Alamance and Orange County to get to the Duke Forest trail. I have to drive slower but it's a much shorter route.

Well, in the weak predawn light, the deer are still out in force and I had to drive even slower than usual. We had deer bound across the road in front of us six times on the way there. And not even once on the drive back, when it was after 8am. Apparently once the sun comes up and traffic increases those deer make themselves scarce. Go figure.

I was a little surprised that we didn't see a single deer while hiking in the woods. On the other hand, we aren't exactly quiet when we walk...

That picture at the top was taken near the concrete bridge in Duke Forest. You can see how misty the air still is at that time. We were near the half way point in the hike and it was around 7:20am. You can see some water research equipment that Duke has along the trail there.

The next two pictures were taken earlier, around 6:50am, at the top of a rock face.

The middle picture was taken while leaning over the top and looking down towards the ground. And the last photo was while sitting on top of the rock face and looking towards the edge. With my trusty Wal-mart water bottle right beside me, I might add.

I took some pictures in the woods also but almost none of them came out. There just wasn't enough light and they came out blurred. Sad 'cause the light was wonderful to the eye, just not enough for the camera. And the flash made the colors change and become unappealing. *sigh*

Later today we plan on doing some cooking and baking. I picked up a couple of plantains that I want to try to play with a bit and there's a recipe I want to try that I saw on Food Network called Millionaire's Shortbread that Julie and I might make today.

Comments

Jan said…
I like the composition of your pictures but the second one should have a warning to acrophobics.
1:54 PM
Nina said…
Oh good heavens you have no idea the rock climbing fantasies these pictures inspired. Maybe I need to move back down south.
10:53 PM
Deana said…
You get started a whole lot earlier than I get to. But if I take the kids they don't even get going until after 8:30! Now the dogs would be all up for early rising. The photos are great. I love the mountains around here.
10:31 AM
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