A Walk Down Orchard Trail

This is a repost of something I did a couple of weeks ago. Today the weather is perfect so I fired up my next to last Cuban cigar and took a walk. The light and my camera cooperated so I could get a few pictures of the walk down this path.

At the end of our road a path meanders along the side of the ridge through the rhododendron and oak trees until it comes to a shallow stream. You can hear the sound of the water as it gently rushes the thousand or so feet down into the Ararat valley long before the curve in the trail brings you to it. At the most ankle deep and four feet across it runs over the bedrock as it has probably done for centuries. Guarded by rhododendrons a small water fall feeds the brook. It emerges and then is lost again as it weaves it's lazy way around and over ancient rock. I feel it must be spring fed but have not been able to penetrate beyond the waterfall. Someday when energy allows I will climb the steep side of Groundhog Mountain forgoing the intense foliage and locate its source. Until then I will be content to enjoy the sounds of water on cool days and wade in the welcoming stream when warm weather comes. It is one of the real treasures of Gods earth, a secret place known only to a few where, like so many places in this area, all the nastiness of the world vanishes and I am left alone with my Creator.