Paul B. Johnson State Park

My youngest daughter and I rode out to Paul B. Johnson State Park in rural Hattiesburg, Mississippi on March 15th.  It had been years and years since I've been there.  My parents occasionally rented a cabin on the lake during summer vacation when I was much younger.  

We walked along the nature trail for a few minutes but didn't see any creatures stirring about. The trail itself is nice and has wooden benches here and there for those who want to sit and rest or watch for wildlife.  

The water level in Lake Geiger was higher than normal due to flooding rains in the area. Water was still overflowing onto the bridge days after the heavy flooding.  

A small group of Canadian Geese were busy foraging in the grass near the water's edge.  

We saw just a few other creatures stirring that morning, including a squirrel and a red-bellied woodpecker.

A whole bunch of turtles were warming up in the sun.  I counted 26 of them to begin with- about half of them scrambled into the water as I approached (guess they were camera-shy).  

That's a crowd!

Thanks for dropping in.  Have a great week!

Along Rookery Road

Rookery Road winds along the eastern half of Lake Martin.  Mostly consisting of rock gravel, it's a dusty and bumpy  ride.  At least it's wide enough to park without blocking others from passing. My husband and I made several trips along this road in our pursuit to seek out birds and other wildlife in the area.  

Portions of the swamp near the southern end of the road are literally covered in duckweed which gives it a bright green, slimy appearance.  The duckweed dissipates and water hyacinth dominates the swamp near the northern end of Rookery Road.  

On my right side (heading north) I viewed some tropical appearing plants (I don't recall the botanical name of these green fan-shaped plants), beautiful yellow wildflowers growing alongside the road, several turtles warming up on logs, a unique camp house, an old wood-framed house (I like old houses), cows in a pasture of yellow wildflowers (signs of spring), squirrels and a variety of birds.

Among the birds we viewed- Red-winged Blackbird, Pied-billed Grebe, Barred Owl, Killdeer, Yellow-rumped Warbler and White-throated Sparrow.  

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful, safe weekend!
Linked with Eileen for Saturday's Critters