Freund Wildlife Sanctuary

Located in rural Old Chatham is the 57 acre Freund Wildlife Sanctuary, managed by the Nature Conservancy, with two trails totaling nearly a mile and a half together.  Today was a much needed respite from the bitter cold with bright sunny skies and temps in the mid to upper 30's!

Cobalt blue skies ruled the day above the bare winter trees.

There were plenty of signs of deer all over the woods.  From scat to footprints, this must be a very popular area for deer to congregate.

The relatively warm air felt great, and made for a great walk in the woods.  There was even the sound of bird calls.  The only drawback to these quiet woods is the constant sound of traffic from the interstate in the nearby distance.

The trails cross a couple of spring fed streams on the property.  Most of the streams were frozen over but there were some open sections which was nice to see.

Deep in the woods are stone walls buried under snow, a reminder of the past.  This land was last farmed in 1930 and is now a maturing forest of white pine, oak and hickory.

Ice along the stream.

The trails are marked by orange markers and blue markers pinned on trees.  Some are labeled with the types of trees that they are.

Across from the trail entrance is a horse farm.  This horse seemed to take quite an interest in me as I got back to my car.

A relatively unknown preserve that doesn't always receive a lot of attention was actually the perfect place to get out and get a nice walk in close to home today.  Spring fever is really starting to take hold after today's gorgeous weather.  It's coming.  Slowly.