Walking Lucy Park Backwoods Jungle Without Snakes

This morning for reasons we need not talk about I drove to the eastside of Wichita Falls. This put me in the vicinity, sort of, of Lucy Park.

And so by 11 this morning I was at Lucy Park to do some nature communing in the Lucy Park backwoods jungle area.

As you can see via the photo documentation, the Wichita River is running low, despite some rain falling last night.

Last year I made note of the fact that the grass in the Lucy Park backwoods jungle zone grew to being taller than me, as in over six feet tall. This was a tad unnerving, activating the fear of snakes in the grass.

A few weeks ago someone set fire to the Lucy Park Japanese Pagoda.

I think the Pagoda fire, at the edge of the Lucy Park jungle, caused a rethinking of what to do about that tall grass. As in the tall grass is now being regularly mowed, totally changing the Lucy Park backwoods jungle experience.

I sort of like it. One can easily now walk off trail, making your own route through the woods, with no fear of snakes slithering unexpectedly.

Today I ran into one of the walkers I regularly see at Lucy Park but had not seen of late. He told me he'd been hiking the Wichita Bluff Nature Area, til yesterday, when he came upon two large rattlesnakes taking up residence on the Circle Trail cement.

That information put the kibosh on hiking the Circle Trail in the Wichita Bluff Nature Area. I have a strong aversion to all snakes, with the strongest aversion being to rattlesnakes.

Of the deadly snakes in Texas, I have seen more rattlesnakes than any other. I've only had a couple encounters with copperheads, water moccasins and cottonmouths...