“Be thankful for what you have;
you'll end up having more.
If you concentrate on what you don't have,
you will never, ever have enough.”
Oprah Winfrey
Tomorrow will mark our 41st wedding anniversary. We hoped to treat ourselves to a trip to Newfoundland, but that will not be in the cards this year. Second best? Some tasty meals from The Market & Smør and a hike or bike ride close to home. This morning's coolness was perfect for an eight km. hike.
Our gardens waved goodbye as we headed west from the house.
I have been wanting to introduce our hiking club to the charm of Cochrane Road. It is my second favourite hike from home. In the winter, it is very icy and treacherous. In the spring it is muddy, very muddy. So, sometime in the fall we will be hiking here together. The conditions should be perfect then.
It is so interesting that only one km from home, you can find completely different wildflowers. Achillea. Yarrow.
15 years ago, this was a pond. Nature is always changing. No need to ever move. If we wait long enough everything will be different.
There is a nice mix of old fashioned farming and nature on this walk.
That red-winged-blackbird was not happy with the hawk. Seconds after I took this picture, it attacked the hawk and they both flew away.
Aren't swooping fences lovely to look at? Sort of like a trendy necklace around the field. All the cows are gone from this pasture. Ted figures that the price of beef may have something to do with that.
So, here the unmaintained road starts. What mysteries lie ahead?
I was happy that my favourite hiking buddy was with me. I always wonder if I will meet a bear in this section. There are enough bear sitings in Northumberland for this not to be a far-fetched thought.
I think we should have a sound sponsor today. The sound of running water. There are 5 or 6 spots along this route where our sponsor's music can be heard. Despite the droughty weather, this tile was still running strong. I always imagine deer coming to this stream for a drink in the early morning.
Aha! My hiking buddy is a good spotter. I had to zoom to capture this Great Blue Heron. It's grey body almost mimics the tree trunks.
Old-time farming is quickly coming to an end in this area. Many of the farm properties have been bought up by "city people" who aren't into planting crops .... or maintaining barns. Looks like this one is being taken down.
I have never seen wild sweet peas in Northumberland County. These two plants stood out like a sore thumb in the green ditch. A beautiful sore thumb.
It is milkweed season. What a scent!
Along Cornish Hollow Road are some hayfields. Looks like the bees like this particular spot. It seems that every year, more hives are added to this apiary. We wondered if they had bees in them. Many beekeepers lost a lot of swarms last winter.
If you look closely, you will see bees buzzing around most of the hives. Yay!
One of the reasons I wanted to introduce this hike to our club was that it is so quiet. Being hike leader for a few seasons now, I have become acutely aware that it is difficult to keep adults safe when walking on the side of the road. Conversations happen. Common sense and safe practises go out the window.
There are very few vehicles on these backroads. They will be able to walk side-by-side and talk their heads off and stay safe.
Aren't our skies beautiful this year? As I was taking a bunch of pictures here, I heard a noise and .....
..... this Northern Harrier rose out of the grass. At least I think it is a Northern Harrier. It was HUGE!!! Googling it I found out that its wingspan is over 1 metre.
When hiking, we tend to use all of our senses. Especially when leading. Hearing is a very helpful sense. Hikers need to be warned of oncoming vehicles.
After getting over the Northern Harrier siting, we heard voices.
How lovely! Jen and T.J. Sometimes I think God orchestrates these random meetings. What are the chances? They were on their way from Cobourg to Eddystone to the Waterfront Trail and back to Cobourg. An 80 km trip, or whatever this one is, is like falling off a log for these two. They shared their love story with us. My heart is full.
Some grasses are starting to show effects of no rain.
Butterfly Weed. Without butterflies.
There are fewer cattle on this route, but the horses still remain. Here and there we caught a peek of a horse in a meadow.
We decided that this hike should be rated MODERATE. There are quite a few hills, some short and steep, but some long and deceptive. In all there was a 150 m. elevation gain.
On RaceTrack Road, our tobogganing hill looks flat in the summer. Illusions.
The best hike ends going down hill. This one ends level. A good second best. If you look at the chart at the end of this post, you will see why the land in the last section of the hike has been called Grasshopper Flats.
It is relatively flat. Good way to end.
8.35 km, 150 m elevation gain.
All of this beauty and pleasant surprises so close to home. I hope our hikers will make this hike one that they go back to often.
“Some things don't last forever,
but some things do.
Like a good song,
or a good book,
or a good memory you can take out and unfold in your darkest times,
pressing down on the corners and peering in close,
hoping you still recognize the person you see there.”
Sarah Dessen
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