Walking Manassas Battlefield trail

Last Friday after Thursdays rains I took a long walk at Manassas National Battlefield park. It's always a great place to see nature and this summer it's nice and green. On my way home from a nice lunch with my pal Val in Upperville VA. the wait to pass over route 29 heading back reminded me I needed to get a hike in before I came back to the hot city.

I arrived parked and crossed the field to the wood trail to the back of Stonewall Jackson's equestrian memorial sculpture. As I entered the wooded areas the lush green grasses really looked amazing. The trees are green and the old dead trunks standing and fallen always attract my eye. 

The deer are everywhere but not always east to spot. I was lucky to be there alone this time of the afternoon before the joggers arrive to run the trails. I saw several deer in different spots along the way. They noticed me but usually did not flee which means I got to take pictures. 

 In this field which is surrounded by trees on all sides and the distant edge has a creek for a border one doe was munching on tall grasses. There is a white flower all over the field too fine to see in the landscape photos. Also dragon flies with black marked wings.

I saw lots of little birds but they move fast and have lots of leaves to hide behind. This one I managed to capture but I don't know what type of bird it is at only about 5 inches in length I can't even guess. Maybe it is some type of warbler is my best guess but it may not be mature enough to have adult markings. 

On the trail which is gray gravel much of the way for tractors to traverse I saw an pretty butterfly with black and blue and a little orange colored markings and a toad hopped by me almost unseen. I would not have seen it without it's movement it's so well camouflaged. 

A huge pasture was near the end of my walk and the big white clouds floating over the tall sandy colored grass reminded me of that long ago movie Out of Africa. 

 On the wooded edge of the fields I found this tall Jack in the pulpit seed pod forming with it's shiny green seeds.

All along the path I kept seeing Eastern blue birds flying down out of the trees to the ground and back up to the low branches. Each time I moved a muscle they would flee and hide. Finally on my way out I spotted a bunch of them and my chance came to capture one preening on a branch for a while. What a treat it was to watch and photograph that pretty little blue bird.  

Last of all I captured was this king bird who was chasing a mate and alighted on the very top of a tree to catch it's breath. It made a nice end to a lovely walk in the park.