Lost in a Deciduous Wonderland

On Sunday we decided to go to Davis Memorial Wildlife Refuge in North Kingstown, a small plot of land on a bog run by the Audubon Society.  We had a considerable amount of trouble finding the place because our directions said its was right on the highway. Because most wildlife refuges have driveways that are right on the highway.  After driving around like lunatics for quite some time we found a teeny tiny entrance.

It was marked only by this sign and a small amount of chain link fence.  

The trail was narrow and winding and never quite got close enough to the bog to do some real site seeing.  Although it was really nice to get outside and enjoy nature, I was beginning to think this location was a little bit of a bust. 

Evan and I.  One of the only halfway decent photos of us in existence.

Along the somewhat treacherous trail there were several trees marked up with initials and hearts, general teenage graffiti and the like.  It always perturbs me to see carvings like that, an involuntary tattoo for the tree. These trees were marked as high and low as a teenage dirt bag could possibly reach, so the way they look was aesthetically intriguing. 

The trail lead up to several power lines.  I'm not sure that this was part of the trail so much as it was National Grid's pathways for maintenance, but it ended up leading us to some pretty cool areas. 

This is a deciduous forest we found just off the beaten path. The photograph from my phone just doesn't do it justice.  It was BEAUTIFUL. The canopy of trees blocked out the majority of the light casting a blue/green glow.  The fallen needles prevented brush from growing.  It was amazing how we could see, while still being in a completely forested area.  

The trees were blue with moss and fungus growing on their barks.  This was one of the most breath-taking forests I have ever set food it.  There was such a majestic quality to it. I loved it. 

The website suggested we not stray from the path. That was an incredibly wise suggestion, but we couldn't stay away from the allure of that evergreen forest. We ended up lost, very lost, in people's back yards lost. This is an interesting vegetated area we found probably on some one's private property.  We heard some bunnies hopping around (Evan was scared there would be mountain lions :D) 

Once we got the compass working on my phone we were able to figure out what direction we needed to walk in. Unfortunately it was up this incredibly steep hill. In a dress. In sandals. Why do I always end up climbing things that seem impossible in my given attire?  I ran up, grabbing onto tree limbs, roots, and soil, running on all fours until I reached the top where Evan lent me a hand. I always feel so accomplished after my climbs :) 

We found our way back to the path, back to recognizable areas.  What a fun adventure!

Evan made many friends including two dragonflies, an inchy worm, and four ticks.

My outfit. No ticks!

My treat this week? Five Guys and some flourless, mostly vegan, peanut butter banana blossoms you can find the recipe for here on my comfort food blog. 

Fresh Air for the Flu

So I got the flu this weekend.

Which, unfortunately, happens to mean that hiking plans were off.

Fortunately we live here: 

So Evan, who was incredibly sweet and attentive to me all weekend, made me a veggie burger (not the greatest first attempt to get some nourishment, but delicious), I grabbed a huge uncomfortable blanket from our linen closet and we headed outside for some sickly nature time. 

Evan, being the recluse that he is, decided this area was too exposed and people would be able to see us from their apartments (oh no) so he found a very nice spot closer to our pond in the woods. 

This pond leads into a small waterfall outside our bedroom window 

once used for a mill on our complex's property.

Evan did some exploring in the general vicinity, and studied the birds beginning their mating rituals by the pond. I spent most of my time figuring out what trees I could climb when I was feeling better or rolled up like a little burrito in my blanket with this view: 

A bug's eye view. 

I find very few things more relaxing and humbling than having my face down in dirt looking at tiny living creatures go about their daily business. My apologies to this week's fallen heroes, all the little buggies I smushed with my blanket burrito of sickliness. 

It doesn't matter how sick I am, I love feeling the

 textures of nature beneath my feet.

It's Raining Beavers!

We went to sleep last night a little disappointed that it was supposed to rain today.  After our adventure last week we were really looking forward to our hike today.  Evan and I don't get a lot of time to spend with each other since we both work part time and go to school full time with conflicting schedules.  We also don't have any money for what anyone else our age would consider "dates", but we've also never really been the "night out on the town" couple. We've always regarded our time spent together in nature with great value.  Be it walking in the first snowfall of winter, staring at the moon in the middle of the street, watching ducks flirt before mating at a pond, or witnessing a bard owl fly over head far beyond bard owl bed-time we've always seen the magnificence and romanticism in nature. The best of all our "dates" have been spent outside, reveling in the beauty of the earth.
We woke up this morning to grey clouds and a bit of light mist, but after a quick look at the hourly forecast decided we had a little time before it got too bad. And I've always loved playing in the rain anyway.
We decided to go to Beaver Tail State Park in Jamestown, RI. Evan was supposed to go there on a field trip with his geology class this semester, but for circumstances unknown, his class never made it there.
That's right folks. This is a geology lovin' post. Deal with it.

Crossing the stupid bridge to Jamestown. Stupid bridge.

I hate bridges, they're stupid. But Jamestown is on an island off the coast of Narragansett and there is no other way to get to it than to go over this big, stupid, tall, long, scary, curved bridge. I hate it. I would rather swim across if I didn't have to risk getting sliced in half by a passing boat. 

Beaver Tail Park encompasses the bottom coast of the island. We found the vegetation pretty interesting.  It is very unlike the vegetation we typically see in New England.  All of the trees seemed relatively dwarfed and the forested areas were thick with prickers and brush.  All along the trail were these quaint benches each with an amazing view of the ocean. 

For the fallen hero. 

I fear saying it, but I have a feeling each one of my blogs is going to be a memorial to some little creature that didn't make it.  We didn't see any marks of a predator attack, so hopefully this was just some good 'ol molting. So it goes. 

The way was riddled with birds chasing after each other for some tail (get it!? Tail! har har har.) I, earlier this week, had told Evan I had never seen a robin before. Today I saw damn near 30. We also saw some red winged black birds and had a good laugh at how literal the name is after not being able to recall it. 

We also saw this guy hanging out.

Evan on the rocky shores. 

As you might be able to guess from the photo, the coast of the park was almost entirely steep rocky cliffs. Yes folks, that's right, I went rock climbing in a dress.  In this shot Evan is a good 15 to 20 feet below me and I'm standing right on the edge of a cliff. (He hates when I do that :) ) I was a little uncertain about making it down to the water given the steepness, but I beasted those rocks like a champ and walked along the water.  We found about a bazillion snails suckling to the rock faces on the way back up, and were careful not to crunch them. 

Rawks.

The display of sedentary rock at this particular park was impressive. It was easy to see why Evan's class was supposed to study there for a day.  The shale was so easy to pick apart, and so sharp Evan actually sliced his hand open without noticing for a good 10 minutes.  Being lame and nerdy we bantered a little about types of rocks we thought we saw, tried to identify where the waterline would reach, and what would cause different markings in the rocks. 

Lighthouse.

World War II Remains and Memorial.

It became increasingly obvious to us that this park was once a Coast Guard base. There was an active light house and fog horns. As we walked back to the car we saw what we originally thought was a tomb, but turned out to be a World War II memorial when we noticed the date engraved on the "tomb" which we then realized was actually a bunker. Winners. 

15 feet up.

So given the weather I wasn't exactly able to wear a nice flowy Spring dress. I settled for some substantial tights, a sweater mini-dress, and a fall-coat. It was still well worth it to wear a dress.  I love having full control over my legs when I'm in nature.  Nothing clinging tightly, nothing digging into me, and nothing inhibiting my ability to move. Just as nature intended... almost.

These are my favorite shoes in the world. I will wear them everywhere, and continually find out they are efficient no where. They have no traction, even though I insisted on rock climbing with them (again, like a champ) and they are also fabric and the opposite of waterproof. 

I have no regrets. 

Chai Tea Hot Chocolate

I like to give myself a little treat after these outings, just to extend the good feelings a little bit longer. When we got home this morning I fixed myself a nice cup of chai tea hot chocolate. Yum! 

A Beautiful Day

A beautiful day, today.
A day to myself, free from work and school. I love Sundays.

Today  I went for a walk in Goddard Park with my boyfriend that turned into a hike.  I love the feeling of the breeze wrapping around my calves, stray fallen sticks and branches scraping against my ankles.  I even love the feeling of a trail's mulch embedding itself in my palms when I inevitably trip over a root and fall, typically due to my inappropriate hiking attire. I vowed that I need to start doing this again. Often, and in a dress. Maybe next time with a picnic! 

This is from quite a few years back, but this is how I love to hike.

Today we started at the harbor, being stupidly surprised to find that it smelled of saltwater, and was, indeed, the harbor and not a pond.  We falsely identified buildings across the harbor, then realized where we were geographically and how wrong we were.

We began to climb a steep trail along the coast to get a new view. Evan warned me that the trail was covered in horse poop.  I told him I didn't care, because poop is nature, and because I'm a disgusting person. As we climbed the trail we found a grouping of trees with no bark, some still standing, some cut down, and some fallen.  They were all studded with termite holes, but looking at the trees that still had some bark on them, decided the bark had been stripped from the wood due to a fungus. This is how we have fun. Nerds.

We were distracted from the bark-less trees when we heard a strange screeching from two birds chasing after one another above us. We weren't able to properly identify the birds, but their feathers looked like those of a hawk, but they flew and had the facial features of a nonpredetory species. So it goes.

After walking up to the horse farm in the park we decided to spend sometime on one of the fields.  We climbed up a 4 foot stone wall, and if you were wondering; like a BOSS in my dress and sandals. I'm sure someone saw my hiney, but I have a hard time caring about that. Atop the stone wall was really old tree, too wide to hug, with impressive branches spanning through the air. I found one elbow I think I might someday be able to climb onto, perhaps with some spandex under my dress, and a boost from my love. Beneath my intended entrance limb I found a cracked and broken egg. I probably shouldn't have touched it, but my curiosity for nature overwhelmed me, and, as I said, I am a disgusting human being. My mother probably would have scolded me if she were there, but I poked that egg like a champ and shared a moment of silence for the potential killed being.

At that moment I realized I should have brought my camera. Shame on me. And a picnic to share. Double shame. At any rate. I love hiking in dresses, nothing is quite so liberating.