Friday, August 7, 2009

Along the Trail

It's no secret that I love to walk in the woods. I spend time in nature daily.


Recently I took the camera along to capture pictures of Indian Pipes.

I also photographed a few other woodland oddities!

Bailey loves to swim, drink and wallow in the streams and vernal pools along our local walking paths.


The water is fairly clear - the reflected tree canopy makes it look green.


I love how these birches look like they're going to braid themselves together.


A slight hint of fall to come.


Hawk feather

Birds have a full agenda in the summer. They build nests, raise their young, molt and head south again. Migration is already starting for some species.


I really don't know my reptiles and amphibians. This is a pretty gray frog or toad of some sort - about 2-3 inches long.


This is a tiny toad. (Or at least that's what I think it is. It's less than an inch long.)


Remember the jack-in-the-pulpit I showed you in the spring? Look at the berries now!!

Don't be tempted to eat them!! They're poisonous!


The wet summer has produced some unusual fungus (or something).


I love these giant colorful fungi! (They're probably 8 inches in diameter or so). They remind me of corral in the Caribbean.


Bailey looks eager to explore more!

7 comments:

Sharon said...

Your world is so green. I've taking your walk with you.

Theresa said...

Beautiful pictures! Now I'm thoroughly homesick.
I can just feel the soft pine needle earth under my feet. While we have plenty of trees, the dryness makes walking at this time of year kind of crunchy! There is a benefit though, for the horses to be on hard dry ground. Their hooves harden up and shoes are never needed for them. There's my silver lining! :-)

Delighted Hands said...

Love Bailey in these pics-espciallly the second one; it looks like he is 'pointing' to something in the water! Loved sharing your walk!

Deanna said...

Aaah, lovely green! And I so admire your breadth of knowledge about what you see in nature. Speaking of fungi, my oldest son has a tshirt with a drawing of a mushroom, and the words "I am a Fun Guy!" makes me laugh everytime I see it.

Leigh said...

Great photos. I've thought about making a trail through our woods because I love to walk too. Maybe this winter.

Life Looms Large said...

Thanks for sharing my walk with me!

Interesting that the ground is so much drier in the northwest. Our ground if finally that late summer dry - still kind of soft - but not muddy in most spots anyway. (Amazing what all the rain will do!)

That Fun Guy Tshirt would be a great gift for my DH!! Hmmmm....maybe for Christmas!

Leigh, I heartily endorse your idea of making a walking path. Ours stay clear from just two people and a dog using them on most days. (Of course, you have a longer growing season...so you might have to recruit more walkers!)

Sue

Jennifer said...

What a great walk and pictures! We've taken Shadow twice to the water and he's thankful, but just not taking to it like that. I'm sure once he figures it out, there will be no stopping him!