Preparations

Gary and I are preparing for our upcoming hiking trip in northern England. We will be walking along the ruins of Hadrian’s Wall, an old Roman wall – a former defensive fortification built in 122 AD by the Romans in Britain, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Our waterproof hiking boots.

We are breaking in our new hiking shoes, and getting used to carrying our new backpacks. We are hiking into the woods at Riverbend Nature Center in Faribault, or the Carleton Arboretum in Northfield. (Although taking a break during these excessively hot and humid days!)

Into the woods…

On a recent hike in Riverbend, we discovered the giant puffball mushrooms. We found them a few years ago along a trail but haven’t seen them since. It’s fun to find these white, almost perfectly round puffballs that range in size from softballs to soccer balls. Apparently, you can eat them. Although I like mushrooms, I don’t want to try any I find on my own in nature.

A puffball mushroom, with a fly sitting on it for perspective. Thank you fly.
I didn’t stop to identify these beautiful mushrooms with my app.
These two puffball mushrooms were the size of softballs.

Deer and turkeys have crossed our paths, and yellow flowers are in bloom all around us as we walk along the different trails, in both parks.

A deer looks at us before darting into the woods.

I see the beautiful, bright color yellow that surrounds us and purposely think summer…because although I like the fall season, I’m not ready for it. Let’s cherish these lazy, hazy days of summer.

Yellow flowers everywhere…Jerusalem Artichokes, false sunflowers, coneflowers, and goldenrod.

4 thoughts on “Preparations”

  1. How wonderful that you are going abroad. You’re smart to prepare. My Amber and Marc did the same. They are currently in Iceland to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

    Like you, I’m intrigued by mushrooms. I saw a huge one while walking at Central Park last evening. Like you, I won’t eat any I find.

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