Blackberry summer

As Fall begins to swallow Summer, it's always a good idea to hit the trails. Nature is in full transformation - and it's worth every minute you can spare to watch closely.

As I've mentioned before, my Fall refuge is indeed that - a wildlife refuge near Ridgefield, Washington. With the exception of a few trails, the area is largely untraversed - and full of opportunities to see birds in their element. Everything from Great Blue herons, Sandhill cranes, egrets, ducks, geese and songbirds galore.

On this particular morning, Dan and I decided to explore a different arm of the preserve - one that we had been down years previous. After pushing through overgrowth, sticker bushes, etc. we rediscovered a spot we had been to before - and sat there in the sun - watching the occasional heron or duck glide in and out of view.

The best was yet to come though...

On the way home, we found the mother lode of all blackberry patches - adjacent to a side trail. You could stand in one spot and pick a half-gallon, it was THAT good. As we would fill containers and plastic bags we had with blackberries, we would turn a corner and stumble upon another amazing harvest - just waiting to be discovered.

Simply amazing what nature offers for free....