Magnificent Morning Run

The Beautiful Greensprings Trail

Morning running conditions on May10th were perfect! Temperature ranged from 58 to 62 degrees, humidity was low, and pleasant gentle breezes ruffled leaves. The smell of honeysuckle lingered in the air and patches of sunlight danced on the trail and trees.

I'm so fortunate to have the beautiful Greensprings Trail only a short distance from my front door. As you can see above, the trail surface is hard-packed crushed stone. It's nearly as fine as beach sand, but not as soft.

The trail runs through generally low-lying land, and includes several short wooden bridges over damp sections. 

The Greensprings Trail is also the largest portion of Jamestown High School's cross country course where Jamestown's powerful district and regional championship teams compete.

On this lovely morning some deer appeared close by the trail.

Just a few meters to the left along this part of trail was a field of winter wheat ripening in the morning sun.

Back on the trail again after the brief wheat field detour, some holly trees bordered the path.

A bit more than a mile along, the trail enters a drier wooded section.

A short journey on the VA Capital Trail is required to close the Greensprings loop. This long wooden bridge is a favorite spot for birdwatchers and photographers.

About 100 meters along the bridge pictured above the Greensprings Trail exits to the right and heads toward another narrower bridge spanning wetlands. 

Midway along this narrow bridge is a sightseeing location yielding an open view of a pond often home to geese and ducks. The pond is part of a complex created by beaver dams. Part of one dam can be seen in the foreground. Park rangers recently opened this dam near the location of the two vertical posts on the right. I don't know why they thought this was necessary.

On this day some turtles were sunning on soggy logs.

Exiting the sightseeing bridge, the trail turns to the right and  reenters woods.

About a half mile further I came upon a group of birdwatchers enthusiastically pointing telephoto lenses up into the trees. I asked what they were viewing. "There's an owl!", they said. It took me a few seconds to spot the owl through leafy foreground. Can you spot it in the next picture?

During the previous few weeks I saw many birdwatchers stopping near this location. They told me about a nest containing baby owls. Eventually, a generous area beneath the nest was roped off so people wouldn't disturb the nesting site. I never could locate the nest, especially without my glasses. But on this glorious morning I did wear glasses and carried a new phone along on my run. The owl presented a good opportunity to try new magnification capabilities of the phone camera. The next picture was the best magnified owl image, but there's no substitute for a telephoto lens on a DSLR camera. Looks like the owl doesn't approve.

Birdwatchers pointed out another owl nearby which they claimed was one of the "babies". This owl seems to have its head rotated 180 degrees to look at me over its back!

A few steps beyond the owl viewing I came across several tiny black toads hopping across the path. 

Soon the trail entered a drier section.

Another right turn and the trail entered a wide final section heading home towards the end of my run. 

Just a few days after this magnificent morning the annual plague of biting flies began. They make running miserable by bouncing off my head and biting my back, shoulders, head, and neck. Sadly, I won't be able to enjoy this trail again until October when the fly plague ends.