“In every walk with Nature one receives far more than he seeks.” ~ John Muir

Have you ever noticed the rich earthy smell when you walk in a forest lush with trees and ferns? This happened recently on a visit to the Pacific Northwest forests, where the tall wide trees become nurse logs to their seedlings after they fall and and go on to provide years of water and nutrients as they slowly decay. The wood from the fallen tree is fibrous and provides an anchor for the seedling. Several decades later the fallen tree is reduced to rich fragments. The scent was wonderful. It was a gift to see nature at work. The life in this area was abundant. Nature left to its own does do amazing things.

This nurse log was in a public park near Vancouver. It could have easily been overlooked in passing, so it was all the more special to see such a unique display of life. It reminded me of a terrarium without the container. I do not remember, how old this log was, but it certainly has many years left to provide nutrients to the plants growing from it.

To experience this delight of nature was a poetic experience.

"It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Peace.