The trails through the green

The trail welcomes you in and the golden grand-dog was eager to go. The leafy bloom of summer is well established and various shades of green urge us onward. We accept the invitation and head into the Rotary Trail.

It is easy to walk here with groomed trails through forest beside farmland. Trails off the main path are designed for mountain bikes. There is plenty of room for anyone who wants to bathe in the green.

Bird song fills the air. We stop periodically to listen and look for the singer but to no avail. The trees hide them well now, creating anonymity for those whose song we don’t recognize. 

An unfamiliar song draws the eye upward and there it is in a dead tree, singing its heart out, visible. On this grey day, the sky provides little contrast but this Red-eyed Vireo allows a photo. 

Each section of the trail draws us onward. Around every turn, the path through another green vista invites passage. My husband and I keep going, through a cave-like opening, where the canopy darkens the path except where a spotlight focuses the eye.

We pass a stand of pine which is showing off its new growth. 

Within a huge stand of deciduous trees the canopy shades the forest floor which is covered green now too. Sarsaparilla and fern love this location. 

The canopy and the green floor create a huge room which mosquitoes love as well. We walk through quickly having forgotten the bug spray.

In more open areas, false baby’s breath

has replaced the lupins of a few weeks ago. 

We walked for an hour then left for home, refreshed in body and spirit.

Bonshaw moments

The field at the beginning of the trail was a source of joy for the golden grand-dog. Off the lead, she ran, jumped and hopped around the field which we had never seen her do before. 

While my husband and I walked the winding path through the field, Georgie managed to prance around its length. 

Her joy was palpable. I understand the feeling. 

When we entered the woods at the bottom of the field, the trial was covered in leaves. The sound of the crunching leaves made this walk different from most of our walks among the Bonshaw Hills. 

We had never visited when the leaves were underfoot as they were this day. Snow keeps us off these trails and the snow is later than usual this year. The crunch and shuffling leaf sound as we walked was nature’s rhythm section come to life.

I thought I would miss the leaves from overhead but such was not the case. The sound underfoot was welcome but so was the leaf covered undergrowth, in all its rustic-coloured glory. 

Interspersed with the ferns which are still thriving, the forest floor is enveloped in fallen beauty.

In several places, ground hemlock looked like its needles were diamonds, formed by the sun instead of the earth.

Along the trails, trunks of the trees were more noticeable now without the distraction of the leafed canopy.

Above, where leaves previously resided, now each twig has its chance in the sun. The white of the birch trees is always impressive!

We had a picnic in the park and watched as this unusual insect braved the 10 degree C temperature. 

It too was lucky the snow has stayed away so long this year.

We walked again after lunch and as the sun dropped lower in the sky, the shapes of the tall giants around us took focus. Everything about trees is magnificent.

It was another day when nature gave me a sense of well being. It lifted my spirits and spoke to my soul. I know exactly how Georgie felt in that field!

A walk in June

Low tide and the city workers had just finished on the beach, removing the seaweed which accumulates there. 

 

The sun was in its late morning position in the June sky, its heat attempting to penetrate to the bones. The breeze made it bearable as my husband and I walked on the boardwalk in Summerside, Prince Edward Island.

Our city does a great job maintaining the grounds around this trail and the trail itself. The wild roses, which line a part of the trail, are in bloom now and add splashes of colour to the June green.

 

We are accustomed to this trail with leafless trees for months of the year. When the leaves are unfurled for the long hours of daylight, we stop often to admire the setting.

 

                                   Can you find the squirrel in this scene?

While the geese are gone north now, the grackles are busy collecting grubs to feed their young. 

 

The song sparrows are singing their usual melodies, this time with dame's rockets in the foreground. 

 

The blue jays, ever present,

 

are vying for their share of the peanut shells which adoring residents throw out for the squirrels 

 

and chipmunks. 

 

White-throated Sparrows are busy collecting the seeds left by human benefactors as well.

 

Two osprey nests, in different areas of the boardwalk, are occupied, the residents settled deep in their large homes which contain fresh greenery and some recycled material.

 

The fiddleheads have unfurled now 

 

and ferns are plentiful along the sides of the trail. Dandelion are gone to seed and some have yet to be dispersed by the wind. 

 

Meanwhile willow seed covers the sides of the trail in places. 

 

Nature always has surprises for us along this boardwalk.