Posted By auntie on August 24, 2012

1.63 miles   ★★★★★

as promised, today’s big surprise is that this is my 100th day hiking in 2012. when i started this in january, i had no idea it would become such an obsession and source of pure joy. the original intent was just to get out and walk for my health, and with luck, to lose a little weight. no joy on the weight, but i’ve found my “thing.” i went hiking today, purely by coincidence, with my oldest and bestest hiking companion from back when we were both in high school. she’s had a tough time with one ankle over the last 4 or 5 years, culminating in surgery last summer to fuse the joint, and she says she’s finally to the point where she doesn’t think about it, and wants to do more mileage. this is the best news ever, and i can’t wait to share some of my favorite hikes.

we went out today back to the browning mill pond trail in arcadia. we hiked it in the opposite direction from the way i hiked it monday. it’s still a beautiful trail. and we saw lots of interesting fungus, including a stinkhorn!

stinkhorn (mutinus elegans)

these guys are supposed to smell something fierce, but i don’t recall that either of us noticed any particular aroma. mr. google says that, while not edible in this form, they sprout up from round balls called witches eggs, and the round balls are theoretically edible. emphasis on the theoretical part.

brown amanitas

pretty brown amanita mushrooms. i know these are not edible.

dead indian pipes

and this is what’s left after indian pipes die off. these are the unopened seed pods. i really like this photo.

Categories: Rhode Island, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 2 miles or less, Exeter RI, RI