Our neighbor's acreage is no longer the thriving dairy farm it once was. Part of it has been subdivided, into large plots of several acres each; our home sits on one of those sites. A few acres of the land is now rented by another farmer where he grows and bales hay for his livestock. Some of it sits, uncultivated and covered with forest and swamp, providing a quiet sanctuary for mosses and mushrooms and wild creatures. Fortunately, our neighbors are good people, and we have their permission to wander their rolling hills and forested acres at will. Today, Haiku and I walked to the braided tree at the forest's heart, and along a trail to the little lake at the edge of the woods.
A photo journal of our meandering walk follows. Some of the photos are better than others, but whether clear or slightly unfocused, they will give you a glimpse of what we saw as the early evening air chilled our skin and the sun slid slowly down the western horizon.
photos: 1) sunlight streaming in at the forest's edge 2)a stream at the trail head 3) three intertwined trees 4) a bit of winter lingers in nature's own ceremonial bowl atop a mossy stump 5) a blade of grass growing through a shelf mushroom 6)several shelf mushrooms like Japanese fans across a fallen log 7) emerging leaves of Dutchmen's Breeches, an ephemeral wildflower 8) a stump with a gorgeous soft mossy "hair-do" 9) And the trail goes on...
All photos by Aisling, April 15, 2007