Old growth nettles.

As we were walking in the forest today, I was thinking about how I would describe the various environments we see as we travel about.  It occured to me that I was walking in exquisite beauty but not giving it credit because it is the environment with which I am most familar.  I hadn't planned to describe the moist loam trail we tred upon spotted with horse droppings and banana slugs.  Did you know that the slugs like to eat the droppings?  (TMI)  The forest was a mix of old growth douglas fir and younger fir, hemlock and cedar.  The warm sun massaged a sweet honey and fir smell that floated through the forest intoxicating birds and mosquitoes. Sun rays filtered through the needled branches illuminating spider webs and flying insects.   Squirrels scolded Mike, Bernie and I as we sauntered down the trail.  When we drove away from the trailhead, we passed two wonderful horse properties with access to miles and miles of trails.  It made me dream of having horses again and spending hours picking up horse poop.