Walking through the woods the past few weeks has been interesting, in this strange after-the-leaves-have-fallen and before-the-snow-flies season we've been having. The forest floor is brown, and the trees are grey, but the woods is frequently brightened by splashes of green on the boulders, logs and stumps. In the interest of documenting this particular 'season in the valley', I'm going to share with you some more pictures from the woods.
It's the mosses and ferns that add the colour, a wide variety of greens, sometimes almost fluorescent!
Of course you can see these in the summer, but in the leafless late fall season, when they are the only bright colours left in the woods, they seem so much more obvious.
This is a big log beside the trail in the woodlot next door where I often stop to photograph Trilliums in May. It has a totally different appearance now, and is the brightest colour in the area.
I could take dozens of photos of mossy boulders. And beyond this one is some of the Broad-leaved Woodland Sedge.
This picture, from a different woodlot, shows both types of Woodland Sedge, the Broad-leaved, and the Narrow-leaved, both often mistaken for grasses.
And one of the many Woodferns I find, sprawled flat but still in a somewhat symmetrical circle.
You can tell it's a woodfern by the finely cut sub-leaflets, and also by the fact that it's still green now. This is appropriately named the Evergreen Woodfern.
And besides the boulders, logs, sedges and ferns there are moss-covered stumps. With this strange season carrying on for so long this year, I have a whole new appreciation for mosses and ferns as a source of colour in the woods.
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Away visiting family for a couple of days this week, but I kept up my walks, so I'm still averaging 1 hour per day for this week. And we have SNOW! At least briefly, for the temperature is forecast to rise quickly to +10°C by mid-week, even though it's nearly -10 at the moment, with 2-3 inches of the white stuff on the driveway. I'm not going to bother shovelling or snow-blowing, 'cause it's going to melt anyway!
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What beauty!!! This would be a walk I would enjoy very much.
ReplyDeleteReminds me a little of our woods. We also get the green from ferns and moss when everything else goes brown and gray.
ReplyDeleteI love the contrast of seeing mosses and ferns in the off-seasons. It's also great to sit on heavily moss-covered rocks by the side of a babbling brook.It's like a natural cushion.
ReplyDeleteLove the ferns! The scenes of fallen trees remind me of the typical nature trail sign about trees returning to the soil, completing the cycle of nature.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, that is cold, Lovely fern , with symmetry , beautiful. and the sedges, bright colours against the leaves, perfect contrast. ( those would be so good next to each-other in a quilt)!!!
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks Pacific Northwestern-y to me! I wouldn't be shoveling either, with warm temperatures on the way. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how you notice the moss and ferns more once the leaves have fallen. It's like that here in Oregon too, particularly in the Columbia River Gorge.
ReplyDeleteI love walking in the woods . Lovely photos ! Thanks for sharing , have a good day !
ReplyDeleteThe moss really stands out well!
ReplyDeleteExcellent photos and good on for the walks.
ReplyDeleteLove all that shapely green moss in contrast with the browned foliage around it.
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