Sunday, February 17, 2013

Possums and Trains Don't Mix

It has been a pretty long week for me.  I've been sick most of the week, and actually still am a bit.  I've slowly gotten a bit better each day.  I don't stay down well!  I've been laying around watching TV and movies and thought I was going to go mad today, so I decided I was going out!

I went over to the Hennepin Canal Museum area and did a short, sloooowwww bike ride.  I didn't want to take too much out of myself.

My favorite bridges are the railroad bridges that cross over the canal, so I headed to bridge #4.  I haven't been here for quite some time.


I decided to ride instead of walk.  I tried a bit of a hike yesterday and felt pretty crappy when I got back.  The bike was perfect.  I just kept it in granny gear and kept it at about 2 mph:)


Once at the bridge, I wanted to go up top to get some photos.  I love black and white photos of old bridges.  I like how these came out.



I could see something on the tracks on the other side, so I crossed the bridge.  The sight was not a good one:(


Opossums were lying everywhere.  There were actually four carcasses of varying ages lying around.  All four were in the same spot.  I missed the best shot of the day shortly after this.  When I was done inspecting the carnage, I was going back to cross over the railroad bridge.  I took one look back and a coyote was sprinting down the center of the tracks headed right for me!  I was so surprised, I didn't even think to raise my camera!  That would have made an awesome photo, but as I finally decided to raise the camera, he bolted off the tracks and into the trees.  I'm pretty sure he was planning to scavenge a meal.

On the way back I did find some living wildlife.  A lone goose was hanging out on the ice and didn't seem to startled by me.


It was also nice to see a living opossum on this little trip.  This was a young one!


By the time I got back home, I was pretty worn out, but felt better that I got some blood circulating!  Finally.  I hate lying around.







2 comments:

  1. Wow. Poor 'possums....

    You see more wild mammals in person than just about anyone I know! I must be much too loud when I push through the woods. They run from me before I get there! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Trailblazer! Thanks for swinging by. I do see quite a bit of wildlife, but I think I have the canal environment to thank for that. Basically, you have this wildlife oasis in a sea of cornfields:)

    Bill

    ReplyDelete