....with joyful heart: Moss Rock Preserve

Whew.........I finally have some time when I feel like I have the energy and the time to make this post! Things seem to come in waves...........a time of almost dead calm.......and then LOOK OUT!!! Wave after wave after wave. It kind of makes the calm look good.

In my last post I said we were "off on an outing"........well.........to Moss Rock Preserve! I don't know how we found the place, or if it was really the "start". But there was a trail head and a little explanation. Sister Newman wanted to go as well and she was a delightful companion. We were thankful for the map she called up on her phone! It was a perfect day for a hike--not too hot, not too cold, sunshine........wonderful! We wanted to hike to the waterfall, but didn't know exactly where or how far. We knew--or at least thought we knew--it couldn't be too far. And it wasn't...........our total hike ended up about three miles long if my new phone is to be trusted with that kind of thing.......I have lots of pictures. And really. They "tell" the story better than my words can............. Of course I'll talk about them as they come...........

This "creek" was mostly pretty slow moving......lots of pools and sometimes it would disappear altogether under the rocks. It was obvious that there are times when lots of water comes down here. That would be fun to see from a safe place. I enjoyed the "lazy"...........and the beautiful reflections with the floating leaves.....

Here are some more of those whatever they are............I wish I knew! Aren't they pretty???

This is Sister Newman........a "grandma shot"........ And I show it to you so you can see what I am standing on in the picture below. Obviously, we have differing criteria in framing a picture! We are holding onto a rope. Roger thought we should Tarzan swing out over the creek. HA!!! HA!!! He didn't even climb up on that root or log or whatever it is........the picture of Roger is on the trail. Lots and lots of rocks......mostly big ones........

This is one of the pools that seemed to have no outlet.......the water came out from under the rocks not far away.......off to the left........

Here's the waterfall........ You probably can't see it really well, but I didn't climb down the side up there on the right. Yeah......I'm scared of things like that. I know my limitations!! I hiked down the trail and back up along the water. And I have more than this picture--of course--but this one shows the whole thing.......really, lots of smaller falls........ And we thought there would be more water just following a rain storm......

All kinds of leaves floating on the calm, clear water........it was beautiful!

If you look closely in this one, you will see the shadow of a fish about the middle of the picture. If you look even closer, you will see the fish!.......not very big, but there were quite a few of them all along......trapped in the pools until there is enough water to run over the rocks.......