Snap-a-holic post

TH and I went for a walk at the bird sanctuary yesterday.  Its a nice pleasant walk, its usually not crowded, there are many dogs to pat and visit with, and for me a transplanted mid-westerner, it reminds me of the farmland that used to surround me.  No farm animals though..sigh.  But there are fields and wide open spaces, a feeling of being able to breathe and freedom.

 The Republican idea of what retirement housing should be?  Nah, just a lean to, they have classes for children on how to survive in the woods, this was built a few days before.

 Then off to a riverside park we enjoy.  The primary user is for a boat launch, so for most of the day its a serene environment to sit and enjoy the day.  If it's not a breezy day, then one is kept mega busy slapping at mosquitoes.  But yesterday was a beautiful day, with just the perfect amount of breeze and sun.

Then up the road away to hike around a recent burn.  This kept us chewing our air for about a week, with the air quality listed as unhealthy for several of those days.  Everyone was wheezing and having issues grabbing enough air

 What we think happened here was that the trees were pulling the last bit of food energy from their leaves before shedding them.  The ground in many areas were covered with these sorts of bi-colored leaves.  This one is singed around the edges.

This forest fire occurred about a month ago, spewing particulate filled air into our town making our air quality "unhealthy".  The trail we were following was used by the fire fighters to get better access to the "back country", where there isnt any roads or trails, so they were bulldozing trails to get the equipment to the fire.  This is one of the many trees that were cut down, and as you can see, the roots of the tree survived the scorching and is quickly working at making a new tree.

 

Some sort of mushroom pushing its way through the forest floor.  If the weather cooperates next spring, this should be a great area to pick morel mushrooms.