Sunday, April 24, 2011

Westminster Ponds Walk

Looks inviting, yes?
If only the entire trail was on the boardwalk,
but the boardwalk only exists to help us cross the
very boggy areas. The rest of the trail was mud, mud and
more mud. My wellies would have done a better job. As it was
I held onto tree limbs and bushes to skirt the worst of the mud and
puddles, plus we each used a branch as a walking stick. Part way in
and I was ready to turn around as it was slow going - I couldn't even take
any pictures as I needed both hands, feet and walking stick to keep me
from tumbling headfirst into the muck. The photos shown here are after we
got through the worst of the mud. However, we weren't finished with natural
obstacles yet!

Not too bad eh? You should have seen my pant legs!

The trailblazer suffered a bit more from the muck than I did.

A lot of areas that are usually dry were still under water from the
winter runoff and the days of rain we've had.

Looking into the water on one of the boardwalks.

There are certain plants that grow here that are right at home in
swampy conditions. 

They make excellent photography subjects.

And don't you just love the vibrant green colour?
Life is coming back to Westminster Ponds!

Makes me think of the paintings by Georgia O'Keefe!

We were almost finished one long loop of the trail when we met up with
flood conditions which were impassable. The pond in some areas has flooded
the trail and there was no way to get around it. Michael tried putting in a couple of logs and fell in trying to cross over. He kept going anyways and discovered that further on there were more flooded areas.  So we had to turn back and find an alternate way back to our starting point and our CAR!
If ONLY we were wearing rubber boots!!

These trees were on the opposite side of the trail from the pond and were under a foot or two of water. I stood on a log to get this picture.

We did find another way through and ended up walking down Wellington Rd. to where we'd parked. Along the way I encountered these brilliant blue flowers blooming in profusion. I don't know their real name - my mom used to call them Crazies - they grew wild in our lawn just after the Snowdrops were finished blooming.

Aren't they gorgeous?

15 comments:

  1. You're a brave soul to venture out after all the rain we've been having! The pics of the greenery are impressive.

    On a slightly "stalky" note, any chance you were at the north end No Frills yesterday morning? I thought I saw you, but wasn't 100% sure...I got very excited to spot a blog celebrity :)

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  2. Beautiful shots! Hope you're having a great day!! :)

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  3. wow that looks like Caddo Lake(not sure why it's 'lake' when it's really a swamp!) Around here you'd be looking out for snakes and alligators in a place that looks like that! I have to admire your perseverance though! I'd have taken one look at the end of that walkway and turned around and got back in the car! (Not too adventurous here!)

    don't know many flowers but they're really pretty!

    Susanna

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  4. psychsarah - yes that was me! Thought it might be less busy over the lunch hour and it wasn't too bad. Could you tell I was on a mission? In and out! Stuck to my list - you'd be proud!
    Next time say hi!

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  5. That bright green stuff looks like skunk cabbage!

    You two are such adventurous souls, braving the wet and mud and bog!

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  6. LOL sounds very similar to our Friday walk :) We decided wet feet were fun and waded on through the marshy spots on the trail. Okay I'm the one who thought it was fun the boys all had other opinions but since only my opinion counts :) Today's walk we remembered our rubber boots and had a lovely time on another trail.

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  7. I too was on a mission with my list :) next time I'll be sure to say hi :)

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  8. Ohhh I like those "crazies"! Beautiful!

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  9. You're so butch!
    And yes, I do love that green color.
    m.

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  10. It actually sounds like fun getting all dirty. We went on a muddy bike ride, I had a blast. Until laundry time.
    You take such beautiful photos. I feel like I am tight there with you.

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  11. great photos & what a great walk!!!! :)

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  12. What a cool looking trail! Beautiful flowers too :) Looks like fun!

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  13. I love the blue flowers. Thank you so much for sharing! I'm a klutz and I would have fallen in.
    Have a great ans clean week!

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  14. At least you weren't short on adventure and this will be a very memorable hike. You might even remember it longer with all of the lingering mud. :)

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  15. gorgeous photos Jane! I can't wait to get our bushwalking again

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