Thursday, July 17, 2008

Grammie changes her mind

One of the great pleasures in being a girl is that everyone expects us and allows us to change our mind. So I did that very thing, I changed my mind and didn't bike today. I chose to walk and am I glad I did. All the smells of the forest are better when walking. You see the dragonflys, you hear the little sounds the birds make as they warn each other you are walking there. It is also easier to eat the berries you find when not zooming by on a bike!

Bleach Boy took his bike and came and went as he pleased. Mostly he stayed very close. I stopped and took my last photos up here in Coastal British Columbia. Lots and lots of photos.

I want to give you a useful idea of berries you can eat. If you have some space even small bits of space you can plant your favorites. I got mine from Raintree. It is good to have a bit of Vitamin C growing near by. After all here in the Northwest we are above the citrus line so you can't grow oranges really.

If you want to go on a hike to find some yourself go up to the mountain loop just out of Granite falls. You will need a hiking pass and can pick them up in town at set locations. I'll put the website below so you can see ahead where to go. My favorite trail for berries and for the shear pleasure is Lake Twenty-two, but there are many nice trails and if you have the kids and don't mind the 15 mile drive the big four hike to the ice-caves (a 1 mile hike with lots of wooden walkways perfect for kids, ice-cave or not) will give you some berries to look at if it's this time of year.

This is the icy water I'm standing in. It helped very much to take my ankle swelling down. I tried to get my feet all dry but guess one foot bottom was still damp and the next 4 miles gave me a nasty blister on the bottom of my foot. I carry a day pack full of stuff to fix such mistakes! As I was standing in the river people passing by began to warn us of a baby bear near by on the trail eating berries. Yes today many more berries were ripe and appearing. A very late year indeed!
Today my nose keeps finding cones, pine cones, fur cones. All kinds, the air was full of the smell. I kept seeing the little chipmunks running all over and figured out it was time to collect the nuts of the cones. I found miles of cones along the trail. They give off a pitch sort of smell mixed with a wooden smell. A nice rich smell This is one of the busiest bends in the river. Bleach boy and I sat at a table in the shade and read our books and passed a couple of nice hours. The wind began to blow some not so friendly looking clouds over head and we began the hike back. A perfectly lovely day.

Now I will give you the berry photos and a touch of information. I can add more information when I get home and have more time, yes this vacation thing is very busy!

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