A Rainy Day at Cedar Ridge Preserve

It is a rainy day in Dallas and I want to enjoy it.  It is rare for Texas to have temperatures in the 70's during the month of July.  There is a light drizzle which has been holding on for days and no one is complaining; we certainly need the moisture.  I am simply tired of being cooped up -- let's go for a hike.

We decide to check out Cedar Ridge Preserve, 600 acres of natural habitat smack dab in the middle of the metroplex.  It rises to 755 feet (yep all you mountain lovers can cringe now just as I do, but around here 755 feet is nice.  It is something other than flat.)  Upon arrival, we decide on a medium hike to a pond.

Once we are under the trees, the rain is minimal and the walk is quite enjoyable.  Yep, it is still  humid out, but at 74, we'll take it.  As we walk the path, I notice spider webs in various places along the edge of our walkway.  The webs glisten from the sunlight hitting the raindrops sitting on the and they swirl down in to a funnel about a foot below.

Down in the very bottom of the funnel lies our spider, waiting for breakfast.  Pretty cool huh?

Our next stop is at a lookout near the top before we drop down towards our destination.  The view is nice even on our overcast, rainy day.  The interstate is out there somewhere as I can occasionally catch a glimpse of a vehicle moving along.

The flora and fauna are always fascinating and today is no exception.  We run into trees that we try to identify; one that bears a small fruit and another that reminds me of the juniper bushes in my childhood back in San Diego.

I also spot snails of all shapes and colors under the trees.  Can you find them in the pic?

The path opens up and no longer has tree cover.  As a result, it is very muddy and our shoes keep packing it on.  I feel like I am walking on high heels and resort to a stick every 50 yards or so to clean it off.  Mister just keeps looking at me and laughing.  For some reason, it falls off his shoes faster and easier.  Grrr.

Rounding a turn in the path brings us a great view of the pond with a nice bench to sit on.  Trouble is that everything is wet and so far I have managed to keep my pants dry, although very muddy.  We stand and watch the turtles bobbing their heads out of the water for their occasional air intake.  We also notice a blue heron standing along the edge fishing for his dinner and stay put to watch him for several minutes.  It is so peaceful here -- we are the only humans and cannot even hear the city noises.  Amazing.

After a brief respite, we continue on our way and as we turn the next corner, we spot beehives up on the hill above us.  Looks like our friendly bee guy from Texas Honey Bee Guild has been up here.  He has hives absolutely all over the area and sells "zip code" honey, the only kind we buy.

The return trip is a bit more difficult.  I didn't realize how much we had descended, but let's get climbing.  This has been a great day.  I have truly loved each moment of it and would like to bring the grands here sometime.  Perhaps when Jared visits, we will try to pay another visit.  Simply put, a great little-known treasure in Dallas.