another monday, another hike in the city

we are trying to make the monday night hike a regular event and this past monday, we went out to warner parks to hike on the warner woods trail, a 2.5 mile loop through percy warner park.

the trail system in the two parks is extensive. it goes from paved trails to bridle paths and primitive trails. there are also roads accessible by car allowing those unable to walk to see the sights and reach overlooks and picnic areas. the best part, we didn't have to leave the city limits to do this. we traveled 11.75 miles over to the west side of town from our house for a total of 23.5 miles round trip. a little farther than last weeks trip but as i said earlier, still within the city limits.

we didn't waste any time, we studied the map located in the deep well trailhead and we chose the warner woods trail. with water bottles in hand, we set off to get some much needed exercise and to explore a part of the park we had never been in before. we had been out here to this area of the park once for a guided wild flower walk and knew we would come back to explore some more. the start of the trail, the roots cut the path like a staircase and made descending the steep incline easy.

one of the many roads that go through the park. people also run and ride bikes on the paved roads.

it was a hot afternoon, at least 92 and humid. it was a little cooler in the park but not enough to prevent sweating.

just one of the many interesting trees we saw along the way

we also saw huge trees. darry stood in front of this one for scale but it still doesn't look as big as it could. we saw a few that were larger too.

in the center of this photo-twin fawns, mom was off to the side watching us to make sure we didn't get too close to her babies.

the only flower blooming in the park. there were a few of these around, but not many. summer is a time when the flowers tend to shut down and there aren't many blooms to see.

we encountered several of these benches on the trail. it must have been quite a job to get them out on the trails.

wild grape vines are all over

more wild grapes

and still some more

another randomly placed bench on the trail.

a most intriguing root system.

good thing we don't have bears around here!

the beginning of the incline out of buggy bottoms

darry spotted these mushrooms on an old persimmon tree.

they are shelf mushrooms and most likely inedible.

they have also released their spores-that whitish dust around them are the spores.

can you believe this is within the city limits?

for quite some time now, we have been talking about getting out and seeing more of tennessee. we have lived here for 15 years and it is surprising just how little we have explored around us. we have been all around warner park on the trails by ourselves and as part of guided walks but there is so much more to see. today we took a trip over to shelby bottoms nature center so that we could walk the trails on the greenway.

first thing you need to know, we didn't go very far-just under 10 miles from the house, right across the river from down town nashville.

the view of the downtown area from the shelby avenue bridge

we parked by the nature center so that we could pick up the trail and start our adventure. if you look closely at the roof, it looks like it is covered with weeds. actually, this building has a green roof and those plants were put there intentionally to prevent runoff.

button bush with a butterfly

natural wetlands

blackberries

virginia creeper

very interesting

the walkway, many parts were shaded by trees

what we crossed over on that walkway

passion flowers

when walking with darry, you are bound to find mushrooms. these are wood ears. don't they look lovely with all of that poison ivy?

a big conch mushroom on the biggest tree i have seen in a while

we were on a little look out taking in the view of the river when darry spotted a nest with eggs below us.

the view across the river

and up the river

the walk back to the nature center

we took a detour on the cotton wood trail, it is a primitive trail-no asphalt, just dirt. we saw some native phlox.

and lots more mushrooms

the threat of rain had us heading back to the car

interesting

and the view of down town as we headed back home after our short adventure.

free time, what a concept

if you have been paying attention to this page, you haven't heard much from me. i have been busy working on my second book and not much else. however, that all changed last week after the photo shoot finished-i headed back to my regular routine. that means i now have my afternoons free to do what ever i want. in typical party animal fashion, i have spent time in the various gardens in my yard. weeds have been pulled, bushes have been pruned and plants have finally made their way into the beds. another advantage to free afternoons, fresh baked bread. i am happy to report that the rye sour survived my absence and so did on small jar of the white sour; the jury is still out on the big jar. now that i have learned we qualified for the disaster loan, i can finally start the process of repairing the house-at least i can finally contact the construction company and let them know that things will be moving along soon. as for me, i'm not going anywhere, i'm just happy to be home in my garden with the chance to contemplate my next move!