Yesterday was a beautiful day, warm, sunshiny all day. My friend and I popped in to Harvey’s for a burger and fries after church before heading for a walk in one of the conservation areas here in London.

I have been to this area a few times, but not in the last two or three years. As we followed the path we noticed yellow arrows on the trees every so often to direct us in the way. That was great until…

After climbing a huge wooden stairway, we continued walking until we came to a sign that told us that beyond that point was private property. We could go no further, but neither could my body go the distance back over the whole path. We were lost.

We saw a man coming along behind us, so we asked him how to get out and back to the car. He was good enough to pull up Google maps on his phone and I was able to tell him where my car was parked. He told us we had to go back down the steps and quite a distance along until we came to a path leading to the left.

As I limped along behind my friend, I said to her that my body would never be the same again. I was literally forcing myself to keep going as it was my only choice. Spending the night with the cayotes did not sound in the least appealing. The man overheard me, and said that it depended on whether or not I wanted my body to be the same. I said I didn’t really want it to, and that I knew I needed exercise. The only problem was that I seemed to be getting at least a week’s exercise all in one day, and that was not really wise.

Every so often he would stop and wait for us until he turned down that path himself. He motioned to us that this was the path we needed to take. Later that evening I realized we never saw that man again, not even a distance ahead of us. Was he an angel? Do angels carry cell phones?

It was definitely the right path, and we found our way back to the car. None too soon, I should add, because my legs were almost at the point where they refused to work at all. It was so good to get into the car and know I didn’t have to walk any more.

All evening and today I have been suffering from that way-too-long walk, the first walk I have done in at least a year. But I survived, and that is the important thing. Now I will share some of the photos I took along the way.

This butterfly was difficult to photo as it kept opening and closing its wings and my camera has a delayed reaction, so I would click at the right time, but by the time the camera actually took the picture, its wings were closed again. This was the best I could do.

Darning Needle Dragonfly

This darning needle dragonfly was also difficult to capture on film. They move so quickly and don’t alight for long, but I got lucky with this one not long before my battery died.

More of the wildlife in the conservation area

The turquoise “collar” on this bird (grackle, I think) did not really exist. It was simply the way the sun caught the iridescent feathers at that angle. It was amazing.

Some of the wildflowers we saw along the way. The top is sumac. I’m not sure what the one to the left of the second row is. The center is goldenrod, next chicory (or cornflower). I don’t know what the one on the left of the bottom row is. Next is sweet pea then queen Anne’s lace.

Well, that is about it for my photos. The best thing about this conservation area is that it it right in the middle of a subdivision in the city. I love the fact that there are a number of these areas in London designated as conservation areas, places where we can walk and feel as though we are in the middle of the country yet we don’t have to travel far to get there.

I hope you have enjoyed my condensed tour of our Sunday afternoon walk. Please leave a comment below if you liked it. And if any of you know the names of the wildflowers I couldn’t name, please feel free to share in the comment box as well. If you are not already following my blog, please take a moment to click on the “Follow” button at the top to receive e-mail notifications of new posts.

Have a wonderful week. May God bless you richly.