Walking about at the Ranch, I was coming back towards the house when I heard the folks that keep the cattle up the road a bit. I like to leave people to their own devices when I can; so I decided to leave the trail and head "off-road".
Coming off of the road, I found this stand of madrone trees. I have never seen so many in one group:
This rock just appeared in the ground with no other rocks around it. So odd.
Deer Droppings pile:
It confirmed that the slight cuts in the tarweed were deer paths:
A nice little stand of spruce trees:
A fairly large madrone tree (they can grow that large):
Looking back toward the house, I came across a fallen tree:
I pulled out one of the branches (the wood was soft). The process of decomposition hard at work:
I need to go off road more often.
A walk in the woods helps calm a soul during troubled times. You are lucky to have a place where you can do that. I think maybe that is why so many urban people are so frazzled - they have no down time to contemplate your place in the Universe.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, it does calm the soul (and yes, I am very lucky). This is one of the things that always bothers me about the concept that cities are "the future". Not sure how concrete and streets make one more calm.
DeleteIt's comforting when the creation follows the same "rules" that it always has. At least that is still normal...
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your contemplations... And you visit to the home place.
It is STxAR. The world continues to turn as it always has, no matter what we do.
DeleteThanks. It has been needed after the last two weeks.
I always enjoy pictorial walks in climates that I am unfamiliar with so I can see new things like madrone trees which I have never heard of until this morning.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to show them to you Ed. They have that lovely red bark which will peel over time. The wood is slightly red - I have never seen anyone work in it (a shame, really; I think it could be well developed), but it certainly burns hot.
DeleteLovely! I'm always an off-the-beaten path sort of person. Keeps things interesting.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, it is not as attractive in the summer with the poison oak all about, but I do need to do this more.
Delete..the woods are so open there. Must be a treat! Crappy boreal forest here..off trail means hacking through brush in most of the forests here. Looks wonderful..and to have such variety! I am jealous!
ReplyDeleteEGB, part of the reason the woods are so open here is a combination of heavy pine and oak tree growth which cuts down the summer sunlight and my father grooming the underbrush (which, around here, is pretty much a fire hazard if left unchecked). If you were to cross the fence into the neighboring property, you would find it much more overgrown.
DeleteAh! I have been in open woods and it is amazing. Looks wonderful though. I do hack my way alot and there are more open spots near established growth here. They said that when the settlers first arrived here you could walk huge spans of the province under a canopy of hardwood forests. Then they cut it all down for lumber. I would have loved to see those forests. I remember reading posts on clearing for forest fire prevention now that you mention it. Stop turning me into a multiple return visits a day blog follower too ;) Coming back to old posts, remembering old posts while commenting on 3 threads..what am I becoming!
ReplyDeleteYou, my friend, are becoming an addict. Which is what we are hoping for...
DeleteI have read the same descriptions of the forests of Ohio as well. And one wonders what the pre-historical forests of Britain and Germany were like.