Terra Cotta Hiking
John and I went hiking at Terra Cotta Conservation Area today, up north near Caledon. Beautiful area for hiking and likely the only reason we've bypassed it so long is because it's always promoted for its fishing grounds and little else.
There was a wonderful lake that was a whole eco-system unto itself. The lake was thriving with bullrushes and lily pads. I thought it was especially cool to see so many water lily flowers in bloom. The lake was dotted with all these lovely white-petalled flowers. There were also tons of small fish and lots of frogs in the lake, too. Fun to watch.
Besides the lake there were also two smaller ponds. We sat for several minutes beside Mink Pond watching these very bizarre tadpole/frog animals. They looked like frogs right down to the long crooked back legs, but they had these long lizard-like tails. Now I know tadpoles have tails before they mature into frogs, but these tails were huge and these critters looked more like a new breed of lizard. Very strange.
Lots of rustic forested trails to hike along as well, though, despite having a map in hand, we found it very easy to get disoriented on the paths, as they aren't marked that well.
Good day and good hiking practice leading up to our Manitoulin Island trip next weekend.
There was a wonderful lake that was a whole eco-system unto itself. The lake was thriving with bullrushes and lily pads. I thought it was especially cool to see so many water lily flowers in bloom. The lake was dotted with all these lovely white-petalled flowers. There were also tons of small fish and lots of frogs in the lake, too. Fun to watch.
Besides the lake there were also two smaller ponds. We sat for several minutes beside Mink Pond watching these very bizarre tadpole/frog animals. They looked like frogs right down to the long crooked back legs, but they had these long lizard-like tails. Now I know tadpoles have tails before they mature into frogs, but these tails were huge and these critters looked more like a new breed of lizard. Very strange.
Lots of rustic forested trails to hike along as well, though, despite having a map in hand, we found it very easy to get disoriented on the paths, as they aren't marked that well.
Good day and good hiking practice leading up to our Manitoulin Island trip next weekend.