Adirondack

You may have wondered why my blog is titled "Adirondack Urban".  It's because I have a split personality! Part of me loves time in nature, being alone in the woods, in or near the mountains, preferably near water.  Part of me loves city life with all it's conveniences, people, and the hustle and bustle. Over the last week I had time to nurture both sides of my personality.

First up, the Adirondack side:

In my opinion, late fall is the best time to go for a walk in the woods. There's no bugs. The leaves are off the trees and much of the underbrush has died back, so you can see into the woods for a long way.

The leaves underfoot make a satisfying crunch as you walk. Or the thick blanket of pine needles muffles your steps.

You can see quirky shaped tree trunks, like this one with two burls,

Or this bent one:

You see berries, like these winterberry and barberry bushes.

Or just beautiful bits of nature like this giant root system from a huge tree that blew down, this lone cattail or this log with moss and some critter's leftover meal:

A few years ago, when I could still run, I participated in a series of 5K (3 mile) trail runs over these same paths.  I can't run any more, but it can still enjoy these woods.