High Ledges.

The High Ledges Wildlife Sanctuary tops a tall hill in Shelburne, and is a great place to spend a few summer hours.  It’s beautiful this time of year, with the mountain laurels starting to pop, and an idyllic view:

…overlooking the village of Shelburne Falls, with the Bridge of Flowers in shadow at the left:

That’s a way tele shot, and cropped to boot, but the people on the bridge are very differentiable in the full-sized original.

Hats off to Gizmo.

I hiked the trails looking for Lady’s Slippers, and found plenty:

The rare yellow ones, sometimes plentiful, had gone by, so you get the pinks.

I wandered the woods, taking a chance on this fun little loop:

Pay no attention to those pesky signs, I’m sure this is a fine place to hike alone, miles from medical help.

This trail brought me past a bog where pitcher plants were blooming:

…and there were small animals, some disturbed by my passing, including this baby porcupine which waddled along the trail ahead of me, muttering (I swear!) ’till it hung a quick left and climbed a tree:

Sorry ’bout the picture quality, but I was set up for wildflowers, with mirror lock-up, manual focus and a two second delay, and this all happened pretty quickly.

So up the tree he went:

…then off to home I headed, relaxed and smiling from a good walk in the woods.

I hope you enjoy it too!

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