Afternoon tea with a Matriarch in the forest...

She is a grand and elderly lady, my best guess would be at least 100 years old if not more. A beautiful Gambel Oak, resplendent in her fall colors of amber, we discovered on our afternoon trek through the forest. All the others around her (her children, it appears) have trunks no thicker than my forearm or leg, but her girth was nearly more than I could reach around with my arms, and no others matching her regal majesty nearby. On the south face of her trunk, from ages ago damage of some sort, is a little cave, a safe-haven perchance for weary, cold or frightened animals, safe in this loving matriarch's embrace.

So, after spending a little time in this Grand Dame's company, we left a bit of "thanks" to her with what we had, a carrot muffin and a splash of green tea... afternoon tea with a Grand Lady of the forest, a wonderful way to spend an autumn afternoon.

During our excursion, we managed to catch glimpse of not just one, but two, grey foxes, several elk, my wife caught sight of some white tail deer, and the rare sight of a raccoon.