On an afternoon where C and I really wanted to take a walk in nature but didn’t want to travel far, we landed at Nine Mile Creek and joined at 106th Street in Bloomington. This is a popular trail with locals and I can see why.

This trail is similar to some nature reserves in the area in having a slight variety in habitats for plants and animals. Seeing the eastern phoebe along the trail was fun. Further along the trail we saw an egret and a great blue heron. Thankfully the northern water snake slithered by without incident. While in the wooded area there were so many what appears to be butterflies similar to the gray comma. This trail that followed along the creek from the woods and a marshy lake went straight to the river.

Like the turtle basking in the sun, I enjoyed being surrounded in nature. The butterflies fluttering about, and the water still making swift movement for the river and the sunny day. It was a great walk that although well known by locals, it was fairly quiet.

I would like to explore the other sections of this creek as I wonder if there are more micro habitats along the trail. The trail is fairly sooth but is not paved so if the ground is wet for any reason it might be a bit more difficult for walking or pushing strollers. We were there on a dry path day and it was an easy walk. There are two different websites with their ideas on how to best go forward with preserving this gem of a trail. It remains to be seen what the officials do with the trail going forward.

Bye for now.