Afternoon delight...

A fall day garnished with sunshine means grab the camera and go for a walk! My brother Terry has a woodsy piece of property up the road a ways, that we all enjoy for quiet strolls and getting a dose of woods without driving the logging roads.

I took advantage of an hour of R&R all by myself. Mom reminded me about the bear sightings just as I went out the door. Thanks, mom.


I spend a lot of time when walking looking at the ground - my glitchy knee requests no sudden moves or unexpected holes. So I get acquainted with things like slugs, bugs, mushrooms and moss...a

The clover-like leaves are Oxalis, better known to us as kids as sourgrass. We loved nibbling the puckery leaves - I'm not sure why, now. Guess you have to be a kid...

Textures of the woodlands are almost overwhelming - eye overload at times! But so beautiful. The huge old spruce trees on this piece of land make you stand still and almost worship them.
This one measured probably three feet in diameter.

Blue sky and sunshine - looking up through the leaves 0f the maple trees - what lovely patterns.

The Vine maple is turning color now, some are brillliant. These leaves were a muted yellow, translucent with sun light.

This reminded me of a stained glass window.

Cascara sugunda. Also known as chittim. The bark was a money crop when we were young, sold to processors for medicinal extracts as a laxative. No longer harvested, the chemical companies came up with "better" stuff. These leaves were glowing with sun kissed greens.

One thing that is ubicquitous in northwest forests is moss. On the ground. On the trees. And if you stand still too long, maybe on YOU!

A refreshing, restful and rewarding interlude - fall is for slowing down after a busy summer. And that's just what I did!