Saturday, September 12, 2009

Deep In The Forest

Once again I ventured off of the comfort of the trail, and I rushed headlong into the middle of the dark and scary forest! As you might guess, mostly because I'm here writing this post, I didn't run into too much real danger. I did keep prodding the ground in front of me though. You never want to accidentally step on a snake or something, even the non-venomous kind.

After looking for a nice clear entrance to this lost world, I quickly followed the path all the way to my first odd discovery. That's right, you guessed it! It was this rotted old tree stump. I have to say it's not anything special, but it does have a kind of character all its own. Even if it doesn't, I just like the way it looks. I wonder how long it will last there before it rots away.

I mean really! Did you ever wonder how long it really takes something like that to disappear back into the earth, never to be seen again? I see old rotted logs all the time, and I always wonder things like that. Some of these logs have been laying there for years. I go past them and they're a little worse looking every year, but they're still laying right there. But there are others I find no trace of after only one year's time.

Ahh, my other discovery! I don't really think you can see this in the picture, but this is a large deep round hole. I would guess that a huge tree once grew there, but inevitably fell and left nothing but this huge crater. It's the biggest I've ever seen. I really tried to get a good picture so you could see what I saw, even trying from several angles, but I guess you had to be there.

I was really impressed with the sheer size of this leftover crater, but I was oddly just a little afraid to step down into it. I contented myself with walking all the way around the rim. For some odd reason I imagined all sorts of vague dangers at the center of that hole. A den of vipers, a bear trap, a sink hole to hell, or maybe even the entrance to another dimension.

That all may sound like an imagination run wild, and you may be right! But that's why I write this blog. This blog is my play area where I can release and share this wild imagination full of monsters and bunny rabbits. One day you too will be on a peaceful walk in the woods, and a little squirrel on the side of the trail will look up at you and say, "Hey bud, come over here. Just wait til you see what I'm gonna show you!"

16 comments:

  1. Ratty, that sounds like a fun place to explore. I've wonder too about the old trees and how long before they completely disappear into the forest floor.

    The big hole was probably from a tree but always follow your instincts. When I used to hike in Georgia sometimes similar holes were old wells or even mine shafts. Always be careful the years can cover up a lot of things.

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  2. It is indeed fun to blog, and like you, I have also my imaginations gone wild at times in this area while the rest like this one here are realistic.... ane even my webbie blog is realistic.

    I have not gone inside a really thick forest but I grew in a place with little jungles and I remebered climbing up trees especially those with fruits! I miss the fun now and the youthfulness that went with it.

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  3. I do very much agree with you, " This blog is my play area"!!

    This is our playground.

    Huhu haha hoho......

    (everything is released).

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  4. just want to thank you for letting your imagination run wild and bringing such entertaining stories. I've got the running wild part figured out but putting it into words the way you do just never seems to work.

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  5. I think you've probably had enough adventures to know when something's not right. I can see from the pic just how big and deep that crater is. Walking along the edge was a brilliant idea!!

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  6. I wonder if the park keepers have the fallen trees removed? It's a shame if they do because all kinds of bugs live in them.

    It's probably best to keep out of holes just in case it's the remains of something man-made and there's a rotting wooden cover under the leaves just waiting to collapse.

    If I suspected it was the entrance to another dimension, I'd probably explore it! :-)

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  7. i think that these kinds of pictures are just as important and beautiful as any others. i love reading about your adventures, no matter what is involved in them.

    have a great day my friend...hugz!

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  8. It's always fun to explore new territory, and discovering new things. I would be cautious like you about the big hole..

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  9. just came from a place with a rainforest and i thought about you and rainfield. i think i caught a black squirrel (not too sure) with my cam but the rainforest is left to be explored next time, perhaps when i am not with a lil'girl and a granny. ;)

    happy weekend! enjoy hiking and take extracare always deep in that forest. :)

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  10. Ratty I read your posts and I'm always reminded I need to get off the computer and get out into the world.

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  11. I would have been very afraid to get too near that hole. I think it's all in your intuition. When you feel there is danger, you have to take precautions. Interesting though.

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  12. it can be my refuge as well :)

    would love to be there, i can imagine the soothing sounds from nature deep in that forest.

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  13. Interesting... that big and no tree there? You have to think that either it was cut up and removed when that became a park, or it had some other origin. Can you tell if the area was an old farm? Then there are lots of other possibilities.

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  14. You should try to step into the hole Ratty. there might be treasure there...

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  15. Maybe it was the Bermuda Triangle hole of the woods...you were smart to walk only on its edge!

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  16. It seems like lately whenever I begin to catch up with things, I fall right back behind. As before, I'll answer questions for now, and thank all the rest of you for your comments. Let's see if I can begin to catch up again...

    John - They usually let the trees fall where they may in this park, unless it's across a path. Then they cut them up.
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    Sharkbytes - Somebody told me that this place has had these trails for many years. It only became an official park almost exactly a year ago. I looked on Google Earth, and it had an image of the place from a year ago. There was what looked like an old house out front. The parking lot was still under construction.

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