May 13, 2022
Today, we took Nox on a short walk. I saw a Luna moth (Actias luna) in the grass. I thought it was dead since it was so still. Bruce even pointed out a caterpillar that was heading towards the moth. We saw the wings move and thought it might be alive. It was so still after that brief movement, we thought maybe the wind blew the moth.
Then, the Luna moth fluttered its wings, lifting into the air. It didn’t go far. I wonder if it had emerged recently.
Nox got tired of us not paying attention to her and wanted to walk on. She was patient while I took the pictures of the Luna moth and caterpillar, I wasn’t surprised that she wanted more exercise.
Bruce and I dropped Nox off back at the RV after she was done with her walk. We headed down to the pier to see the Osprey
The RV park has a hiking trail that we hiked in one direction: https://retirementrvdream.com/2022/04/19/hiking-the-trail-at-river-ridge-retreat/
Today, we started the hike in the opposite direction, that is from the end closest to the pier.
I noticed this beastie, some variety of daddy long legs.
As we hiked, I noticed a turtle.
We carefully and quietly walked around the turtle, trying not to scare it.
As we walked along, I saw many butterflies flitting through the woods. I recognize the spicebush swallowtail butterflies and the grey streak butterflies. Other butterflies moved to fast for me to identify. I wasn’t able to get any pictures of the butterflies.
This bush was blooming.
We heard a noise overhead and looked up. A very large bird was flying from one of the tall trees next to the trail. Bruce exclaimed, “Bald Eagle!”
There was no way to get a picture of the Bald Eagle as it flew away. It was an exciting experience!
There was this cute little guy hanging out at the end of the trail.
The trail came out at the cabins and we got to walk mostly downhill along the road to get back to the RV from the end of the trail.
I had not waited long enough for my food to digest when we went on this hike and my stomach was not happy with me. I had to stop for frequently to allow my stomach to settle before continuing. This was a 4+ mile hike.
Retirement RV Dream 
Julia,
Thanks for the nature tour!
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You are welcome!
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It looks like you had a nice walk. Yes. I saw the turtle, but I was most impressed with the luna moth. 🙂
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I was very surprised by the Luna moth and I was really happy that it was alive. I am glad you found the turtle in the picture. We are looking forward to seeing you soon!
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We are too. We always do. 🙂
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Once I’d seen the closer photo of the turtle, and had a search image, it was easy to spot in that first photo! Great wildlife photos.
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The first picture of the turtle was what I saw when we entered the clearing. I noticed the turtle very quickly and had to point the turtle out to Bruce. I thought it would be fun to include it so people could look for the turtle in the meadow.
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The turtle’s angle makes me wonder if it was digging a hole for eggs. I watched one dig a hole (using its hind legs) once and finally figured out what it was doing. In your first picture, it was directly above the pine cone. It looks like an eastern box turtle?
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Good eye! That was when I noticed the turtle. It may have been digging a hole for eggs or it may have been laying eggs. The backend of the turtle was dug into a hole. We didn’t want to bother the turtle, so we didn’t watch it long. It was an eastern box turtle.
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