En route to one of the local nature trails, we passed...

a corn field that looks like it's ready to pick...




and these beautiful horses out in the country



Along the trail we spotted a bench and sat down to have a bit of a snack.
I spotted this pretty little mushroom close to our feet. It was only about 1/2" in diameter.




Munching on some pretzels

We decided to go to the trail again; see what, if any changes have taken place since the flood and signs were posted saying "Trail Closed".

Hmmm...looks like part of the bridge was dragged out of the river and across the trail....




Looks like someone spray-painted some words on the side of the bridge. What's it say, Kevin?

(spray painted words are, "I told you it was closed. Thanks, Management")



What!

But this does not deter us...pressing on, we find some interesting things.



This is part of the gigantic chain used to pull the bridge out of the river





My strong man

Kevin finally opens his Christmas gift from 2007!


A school project he is helping to build presents the first opportunity for Kevin to use his new radial arm saw (aka chop box). But God also provided him with an affordable work bench. We were walking through Sears for some other purpose and I spotted this workbench that was on clearance. It had been returned after little use, so it was marked way down. He was very thankful to get this as he was using a table with a warped top, but with his "new" workbench he was able to screw his chop box down for stability and safety.




The man in action...looking for long enough screws to bolt down the saw.

Sometimes we come across some pretty bizarre sites on our walks on the trails....


This looks like the back of an eagle or a hawk, but walk around to the other side of it and this is what you'll see....




What appears to be some animal devouring a smaller creature or a snake (don't look, Julie) is actually some kind of fungus that has grown on a trunk that was flooded in June. Creepy looking, isn't it?

We heard the familiar "whoosh" sound again. Knowing what it was, we waited and watched until it came out into the open sky. This is right out our back door.





Our last night paddle of the year?


Kevin likes to paddle along the bank looking for anything alive and interesting that may be moving




A family in silhouette walking along the levee under the setting sun




Kevin riding off into the sunset




The family looking out over the rez...



My headlight...




Looking up into a walnut tree. We could barely see, but we heard the walnuts drop through the trees, then plunk into the lake.