Off the Beaten Path

When my husband and I went to 

Great Bridge Lock Park on Sunday last, 

we headed away from the lock and canal 

to a small inlet on the northeast side of the park.

To get there, we walked through a stand of tall white pines:

At the water's edge, 

we saw on the opposite shore this rusted, abandoned barge

with its tow line still attached:

I think it would make a good subject for a watercolor painting.

And then we turned left along a narrow and uneven sandy path.

More than once, we pushed away branches of wax myrtle and holly

that leaned over the pathway.

Other times, we ducked our heads and wound our way through the overgrowth.
One of the things to expect
about walking these kind of narrow paths early in the morning
is that the first person through
is the one who breaks the filament of spider webbing spun the night before.
This time it was me, but usually it is my husband.
Generally when I'm walking I look down.

That's why I noticed this large fungus:

I'm not sure what variety it is; maybe it's a flat top wild fungus.

It was all alone with no other fungi around, so I found it an interesting sight,

particularly since a portion of its top was folded back
like an old-fashioned theater curtain.

We went on until the path became impassible. 

But at this point, the path wasn't obstructed by trees and undergrowth. 

It was this cascading sedge that caused us to retreat:

It looks like an easy trek, for sure.

But this time of morning everything was still wet with dew.

Add to that loose, sandy soil, a small long-haired pekingese,

our own wet feet and thousands of super tiny seeds 

that came off and stuck to our clothes and our dog

if we as much as whispered around them:

So we turned back toward "civilization."

Tomorrow, another sight or two along the trail

and the photo my dog "helped" me take.

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