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. 

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.