Sunday, November 16, 2008

Through a Forest Wilderness


"The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness."
- John Muir


On a drizzly November morning, my daughter, daughter-in-law, and I joined a few other hardy souls (and two dogs) on a hike along some of the trails in Moreau Lake State Park.

It was quiet in the forest; the only wildlife we observed was a tiny chickadee and an obviously annoyed flying squirrel whose rest we must have disturbed. Dave, our knowledgeable young guide, pointed out the surprisingly abundant plant life tucked in among the autumn leaves.

Eagles, osprey, beaver, deer and other inhabitants of the area were not visible. The well-trained dogs accompanying our group were quiet, with no gray squirrels to tempt them into disobedience.

The fungi Dave displayed to us were lovely, incredibly varied in size, shape and color.



A carefully hidden geocache provided a bit of man-made whimsy, its artful case carved from a beaver-gnawed branch.


Our two-hour hike extended into three hours, but no one objected. It was a wonderfully calming and peaceful interlude in our busy lives.



My complete photoset is available here.
Read my daughter-in-law's more extensive account here



"In Wildness is the preservation of the World" -Henry David Thoreau

6 comments:

Susan Palmer said...

thanks for sharing!

Paul C said...

Beautiful post with quotations and photographs. I marvel what you can do with Blogger. How do you morph the photos so artistically?

Cathy Jo Nelson said...

Awe inspiring post. Beauty knows no bounds. Ok enuf sounding so DMCORDELL-like. Share how you did the photos. I loved the wriing too--you know I did.

A Keeper's Jackpot said...

Had a great time, it was a fun girls day out despite the rain. Let's hope for sunshine on our next adventure.

diane said...

ohiofive,

Thank YOU for stopping by!


Jackie,

I loved our adventure and hope you share some of your own photos on your blog - we could link to each other.


Paul & Cathy,

Thanks for the encouragement. Re. the collage/mosaics: I store most of my photos on Flickr, then use Big Huge Labs http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/ and Picnik (I have a Pro account) http://www.picnik.com to edit and rearrange them.

No special effects were used for this set. The beauty of the rain and mist and wild environment needed no enhancement.

diane said...

Be sure to read my daughter-in-law's account of our ramble on her blog, A Keeper's Jackpot http://akeepersjackpot.blogspot.com/2008/11/local-treasure-box-of-plant-and.html