A little bit of nature

A few weeks ago my friend discovered some nature trails about 20 minutes away from us. We headed over there one day and they were beautiful. I miss the mountains (or hills if I'm in Boise) and feeling like nature is close by. I really miss the Boise river and greenbelt and try not to think about it or I get sad. Anyways (must...stop...thinking...about...greenbelt...), the walks we took through the "woods" really refreshed me. I enjoyed it so much that Emery and I took Gavin with us a few days later. And then we took John and Mary Lou when they came to visit.

Isn't this tree breathtaking? One trail led to a big clearing with nothing except a few huge oak trees in it. And they looked like this one: old and craggly yet majestic. 

 This is an old windmill that has been overgrown with trees. The pictures of this don't do it justice. It has this...I don't know, quiet feeling, where you can see Nature has patiently waited to have her space back. The trees have twisted up through the bars and sometimes you have to look twice to see what's metal and what's tree. I guess this land was once a prairie then a family came and turned it to a farm. The son that inherited it didn't want a farm so he planted acres of trees. 

Check out that twisty branch!

When my friend and I went it had been raining for a few days prior to our visit. There were these weird fungus things growing on the trail. My friend pointed out they look like pig snouts, so that's what we called them. They were pretty gross, full of flies and gnats. But I had never seen anything like them so I had to snap a picture. 

Gavin and Emery enjoying the walk.