Old bench

Cracked from sun, storms, loss of sealant and use, this one sets about halfway through Joe Poole State Park south of Grand Prairie, Texas. The last year or so, about a third of the park has been closed due to flooding.

There are a number of hiking areas, and I've always wondered why the staff doesn't cull the number of snakes, especially rattlers, since the species overruns the escarpment nearby and several other parks. They are so thick in North Texas, that you don't go out of the house in season, without a pistol, rifle, or shotgun with bird shot loaded. Rattlers don't back down, but their warning, aside from the noise, is usually hidden in tall grass.

I don't go hiking without boots, and keep a sharp eye out for the critters. Hoping the flooding has driven them away for this season.

These benches are on the other hand, great places to sit and watch other little creatures from the spiders which will hang a single thread for up to 10 feet down from a branch hoping for some other bug to fly into the sticky strand.

This part is frequented by campers, so kids, moms and dad often noisily walk the trails, which vary from half a mile to up to twelve miles in length and for some, quite a trek. The staff suggests using walking sticks.

I prefer the coves off the gravel bottomed tracks where grass, cactus and rounded half tunnels proliferate from the over arching trees.

The bench beckons the achy feet, tired arms, and bent backs from squatting, attempting to find that perfect perspective. I've written a few songs wandering in this profusion of mesquite and thorn bushes.
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