Tuesday, July 16, 2013

A Walk in the West Country

Sunday was a good day for a variety of reasons.
My husband and I got out for a drive in the mountains, we stopped for a hike, we saw wildlife, and we had a wonderful, relaxing day together.

Such days are jewels.

It gives us a chance to step out of life, out of time even. We enjoy the world around us and how we perceive the world both separately and together.
We tried a bit of a trail new to us, White Goat and its branch White Goat Falls. I only made it as far as where the trail branches.
We'd wanted to go as far as the falls, but the trail turned into a steep decline and I have yet to bounce back enough from surgery to manage it.

It's a good time of year to be in the forest.

The juniper berries are juicy, and while they may be best known as the flavour component of gin they also have some long-standing therapeutic uses.
I use them for breathing.
I have a wee touch of asthma and have to almost 20 years. I rarely pay it any mind and it returns the favour.
But at the higher altitudes I find I like a good boost to the breathing and a few ripe blue juniper berries gives me that.
Husband eats them, too, as they are tasty.
Even if the boost is not needed I'll still eat them because I like them.

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Wild gin on the hoof.

The Western Wood Lilies are enjoying their finest moments. We saw several on our hike.

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We commonly call it a Tiger Lily, but its really a Western Wood Lily.


The trail continues on, but I didn't.


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These are Twinflowers. Beautiful, certainly, but freaky if you look closely as they look like fairies dangling from the stems.

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Linnaea  borealis.  The fave flower of Carl Linnaeus. He founded
binomial nomenclature.

And this is half a robin's egg shell. It was on the trail and I was pleased to see it. I am fond of this colour, and it tells me the robin in it got out.
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If you ever have trouble picturing robin's egg blue this is what you mean.
Thanks so much for coming along on the hike. It was nice to spend the time together.

And remember, this is the only imprint we leave:

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.


12 comments:

Tabor said...

Thanks for bringing me along!

Leah J. Utas said...

My pleasure, Tabor.

messymimi said...

That was a lovely walk! Interesting about the juniper berries, i'll have to keep that in mind, with my scarred lung.

Leah J. Utas said...

Thanks, Messymimi. The taste may not be for everyone. Make sure you get a proper, blue ripe one. The seeds are chewy but the flesh is sweet. Some may have an edge following the sweetness.

Frank Baron said...

Well, that was refreshing!

Here in eastern Canada, it's 42C with the Humidex factored in and has been for days.

The only hiking I'm doing is from car to house. So, I very much enjoyed virtually accompanying you and hubbie on yours.

Thanks, Leah. :)

Leah J. Utas said...

Pleasure to have you along, Frank.

solarity said...

It's always hard to turn back from an interesting trail like that, but it does appear to go on forever.

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Leah J. Utas said...

I hated to do it, but there will be other days.

the Bag Lady said...

Thanks for the hike! I will have to try a juniper berry someday.... minus the gin. (I admit to quite liking a gin and tonic on occasion, so a juniper berry or two might be nice!)

Leah J. Utas said...

I recommend them, but have it close to the house as you may wish a drink of water afterward.

Hilary said...

This was an especially pleasant post, Leah. It's so nice to see what you do on your treks. I really dislike gin so I'm not so sure I'd like the juniper berry.

Leah J. Utas said...

Thanks, Hilary. Perhaps we can entice you with some other wild treats some day. Wild garlic, perhaps? Peppermint?