hmmmmm......Today was a glorious summer day in my ' neck of the woods'. Clear skies , sunny ,87 degrees. I worked inside mostly today but, took breaks to lay down in our spare bedroom to catch a cool breeze coming in from the backyard . It was so relaxing listening to the doves and cardinals calling from the trees back there ,and the gentle water sounds coming from the pond fountain.... made me sigh .
We have the Hennepin Canal not to far from our home .In the evenings we take the dog there and walk along the new bike/walk path .Very rural area surrounded by woods and farms .Many nights we are the only ones walking there. Last night a couple of men were fishing in the canal from their boat and a pair of mallard ducks swam along as we walked .The cottonwood trees are over 100 yrs. old down there and wild canaries and finches are common. We see animal trails coming out of the woods heading for the water ,have to keep the dog from running into the thickets after raccoons or rabbits.Along the shore you can see bluegill fish scattering as we approach ,turtles slide off logs into the water as we get too close .
Along the way we spotted wild black raspberries just about ready to pick and mulberries already ripe and falling to the ground. I just bought a book on identifying herbs and trees
so while we walked I kept my eye open for species I had read about in the book. A poster from England told me the other day about Elder cordial made from the flowers of the Elder tree.
I was surprised to find this tree along the canal in full bloom of sweet dainty flowers . The bullfrogs are just beginning to croak and the crickets are in full chorus .On the way home we pass corn fields , deep green ,and the corn is already knee high or more. The lightening bugs are thick over the crops twinkeling away as the sun set.
A farm is close by so before we leave the canal we hear several cows mooing in the distance . The night breeze has turned cool ...really a perfect summer day ....