Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. After church, we spent a few hours in the woods. Here are a few random snaps I took between dodging briars and holly trees.
I guess, in a way, I want to relive part of my past. Back when I was about 15, my dad bought a Honda Big Red three-wheeled ATV. My brother and I, armed with a machete, a bow saw and an ax, to build trails through the wooded areas on my parents' property. We had the most beautiful trails. There were seep springs, lined with ferns, underneath towering longleaf pines.
In Spring 2004, to head of a complete invasion by Southern pine bark beetles, my dad had the majority of the longleaf pines. A few months later, Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast just south of us. We had massive damage including tree loss.
The days of riding trails were gone.
Fast forward to 2016, we are attempting to find the old trails and rework them. So sad to walk through an area you know like the back of your hand, but now feel totally lost. Trees and limbs were down all over. Now, there are stumps, gallberries and vines growing in the remains of our trails.
We managed to cut out the first leg of the trail. I can't wait to ride through it. The upper limbs still need to be cut with a pole saw and all cut limbs and trees removed.
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| Heart of a old longleaf pine. |
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| If you look closely at the blue blur in the center of the photo, you'll see Craig. |
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| Marker from the last time we were in this area: two year ago. |
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| The man who makes all of my adventures possible. The guy who never complains. Whatever I want, he tells me. |
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