Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
A Lovely Day For A Walk. Part 2.
Hello again everyone! And welcome to part 2 of our little forest walk. I hope you are enjoying your coffee/tea right here by the river. The sun is shining nicely so it feels quite warm. And Sheree brought some delicious chocolate chip shortbread cookies along today. I could easily eat a dozen of these myself! But I won’t. I’ll be nice and make sure that everybody gets to try them. That’s such a beautiful picture right before us, don’t you agree?
Oh, look off into the trees over there. A deer is enjoying her lunch as well and doesn’t seem to be much concerned about us here today. It is such a joy to get so close to wildlife like this. Mostly deer won’t be a problem unless they feel threatened in some way.
See over here on this fallen tree? Another variety of bright orange mushrooms. I have only seen them on rotting logs. But they look so nice, even on a cloudy day they look bright and cheerful.
And over there not far from where we are sitting, see that little clump? That is some crown coral fungus. Apparently it is edible but tastes best when fresh. Perhaps so, but it doesn’t really look too appetizing somehow. So I think I will pass on that one.
As we continue our walk there is something else we missed on the way down. That’s a club fungus in a nice bright yellow. We have a lot of club fungus in an off white or beige color, thousands in one spot I found. But these bright yellow ones I have only seen right here, and there is only ten. A very nice find indeed. These are not good to eat.
The path along here is so nice with the sun shining and the tall pines. The largest pine in this picture is a red pine and is 22 inches (55cm) in diameter. A nice tree for sure. The white pines get much bigger though. But around here it’s hard to find any trees that are more than 12 inches (30cm) in diameter due to all the logging that took place here more than a hundred years ago. In this cold climate it takes time to grow a large tree.
Now that we are in the clearing, look at all the butterflies. These are painted lady butterflies that have flocked together and are on their way to a warmer place as well. Smart. Why stay when you can fly away?
Well, here we are, back once again. Thank you so much for joining me today on this beautiful forest path. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. It’s always so nice to have someone along to share in these little joys. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
© Steve McLeod.
A Lovely Day For A Walk. Part 1.
A big hello to everyone on this sunny autumn Friday! How would you like to join me for another walk through the forest? This walk actually took place on Monday when it was a bit warmer than today. But still, it’s autumn in the north, so don’t expect it to be too warm. Dress warmly for this walk and you will be comfortable enough. Most of the path is in the shade this time of year. The sun has gotten quite low in the sky already, casting shadows across areas that would be sunny in the summer.
This first part of our walk is a bit wet, flooded really. But we can still walk around it quite easily, just follow in behind me, or get wet feet. Once past this area there is no more problems with water, though the ground is still very wet. Look over there, on that dead tree. It’s a black-backed woodpecker. One of two 3 toed woodpeckers we have here. Most woodpeckers have 4 toes. If you look close you can see the yellow spot on his head. These woodpeckers have yellow instead of the normal red. They are a more seldom seen woodpecker as well. And to our right is a curious red squirrel keeping an eye on us.
Further down the path is one of those bright orange mushrooms. They are quite large, this one is 4.5 inches (11cm) across. They are always an odd shape and they last for a long time as well. Now we come to a very steep part of the path, covered with rocks, which actually make it easier to walk.
Then it levels out to a nice leaf covered path and usually there are a lot of mushrooms along here. But the heavy rain on the weekend seems to have finished them off except for a few. Here is a nice mushroom, white with bumps, 6 inches (15cm) tall and 4 inches (10cm) across. That is a real beauty and the only one I have seen along here.
Now we get to another steep part of the path. This part kind of winds it’s way down to the river and a perfect spot for a cup of coffee. The path here is now covered with a fresh, and thick, layer of pine needles making it very soft and quiet for walking.
Ah, here we are at the river. Just look at that peaceful, calm scene before us. If you have any worries or anxiety, they should just float gently away down the river. You must agree that is totally beautiful. And this is a good spot to sit for a while and enjoy our coffee.
Well, we will stop part 1 there and pick it up next time. There is just too much to enjoy for one post! I hope you are all having a wonderful Friday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin
© 2019 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 