Serendipitous

ser-en-dip-i-tous  - occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way

I am a wanderer; not in a cosmic sense or on a global scale, but I daily frequent our local trails in search of a happy surprise, that moment of unexpected delight. I'm the one with the camera hanging around her neck peering up into the canopy with a goofy grin, or zig-zagging across the path in danger of being hit by high-speed ninja cyclists or single-minded serious runners with red faces and a playlist. I kind of figure that if you are not going to look and see what is there, you might as well bike or run on the road. Clearly an opinion in the minority.

Today I accessed the Rail Trail from Pleasant Ridge Rd.. It was a perfect day, warm with a light breeze. Having walked these trails many times in the last 20 years, each location is filled with memories of special things seen there in past visits. This particular section of trail is where I saw my first scarlet tanager one spring day. Today there is evidence of fall; the muted yellows of goldenrod, pops of scarlet where the sumac leaves are turning, and the garlands of grape and wild cucumber draping shrubs and limbs of trees.

Fall asters are opening in contrast to the goldenrod and still blooming Queen Anne's Lace.

This part of the trail is raised with deep ditches on either side.  These have filled in with wildflowers and vines. Sprinkled amongst the grasses were tall stems of blue lobelia. 

Resting in the cut grass at the path edge was a mourning cloak. They feed on oak tree sap and had this one been sitting with its wings closed on a tree trunk, it would have been virtually invisible because it's underwings so closely resemble the bark. 

I tried growing obedient plant in my garden, key word here is tried, but never seen it growing wild until now beside this path in the ditch. And not just one one, but a patch, a swathe, a carpet..a whole bunch. I did read that they like to have damp feet, so this deep ditch must be just right. There is a stunning geometry to these tall plants.

On the way back to my car I saw something new. Strange how you can walk by something without noticing it just because it is not colourful or showy. There is probably a life lesson in that statement somewhere. The plants were about six feet tall and were sporting round seed pods about the size of golf balls. I had to check in my book when I came home to confirm that I had seen a globe thistle. Apparently its scientific names mean "resembling a hedgehog", "with a spherical head". Who knew! 

As I was peering over a small bridge, I noticed something different in the grapevines. 

I know it was only small, and also harmless, but I was just as happy that our mutual encounter was from a distance, and not toe to fang on the path. 

Altogether a lovely hour spent on the path with new things to see as well as gentle reminders of times gone by.

"To the attentive eye, each moment of the year has its own beauty, and in the same fields, it beholds, every hour, a picture which was never seen before, and which shall be never seen again."   Ralph Waldo Emerson