First treat was the Trailing Arbutus. To really appreciate it, you need to lie flat on the ground, practically, and lift the leathery leaves to expose the often hiding flowers.
Then put your nose bumble bee close. The reward is a scent sweeter than honeysuckle and hyacinth combined.
Second treat was yellow violets, first singly, and then a hillside.
Beech leaves, last year's left overs, add the contrast.
Glad to be back on the mountain trails,
I continue to wonder at at what I call
the "macadam" paths...
so "officially landscaped!
In fact,
the "macadam" paths
are exposed bedrock
looking so tame!
looking so tame!
Amazing,
to look at the sides of those paths
to think how little soil
above that bedrock
and to think how long and arduous
the task of making
the soil we see
and
the life it supports!
Though these are not examples of the typical trail, when they appear they seem like old friends,
user friendly,
always welcome,
and likely to appear
on some of the toughest hikes.
Check my website for paintings of "less tame" paths and trails.