Henry's Woods

Every day Henry and I take a walk in the woods by our house.  There are pockets of forest left here and there around Seattle, usually on land that was too treacherously steep to develop, and we hike a ten-acre-or-so patch on the hillside banks of Thornton Creek.   Along the creek we find good salmon berry patches to save for spring, as well as thick black berry brambles.  Overhanging them are fast-growing red alders, and towering above those are 100-year old Douglas firs and 200-year old red cedars.  The canopy keeps us pretty dry even on rainy winter days, and we follow a muddy trail from a dead end on 17th Ave NE down to  the creek itself, then sometimes down to a sandbar island, or sometimes up to a construction site on 15th.  Its peaceful to hear nothing but crows and sparrows and woodpeckers right in the middle of town.  Sometimes Henry is fussy when he first wakes up from a nap, but getting fresh air always calms him down.  I want to foster in him a connection to the outdoors that he can hold on to all his life, but he doesn't really need any help from me.  He's at home there already.

Henry found a red cedar just his size.

Can you believe this is inside the city?

King of the Trail.

Henry's island in the stream.