On the Hunt for Stinging Nettles & Daffodils!

 Hullo! Yep, today is another hike as part of my virtual Pacific Crest Trail adventure. Being a multi-tasker... I like to tack on a mission as part of each hike. Today... it is Mission Nettles and Mission Daffodils!

Let's go!

Errrr... now this is weird... we hiked along the path, along the creek, under the highway and... there is another bridge here!

What is this??? OMG...

They are laying the new water main line (like a mega line) and... it is going right PAST our nettle spot!

This is not good. Not good at all.

I'm kind of scared to see what our patch looks like... gulp.

There used to be a little trail that we would follow through the bush but...

I think it's all... gone... part of this gravel stuff now.

Let's trudge along the gravel (so boring)... but as long as the gravel stays straight like that... our nettle patch is off to the right and...

You have got to be kidding me. They made a big parking spot off the gravel... right smack dab...

In the Decimated Heart of the Nettle Patch (dramatic... yes...)

Oh there are a few stragglers around the edge but...

This... this was Nettle Land... and it is gone.

We did a sweep along the edges and... there are a few patches... And they are almost ready to pick. Will have to come back with our picking gear (double gloves...)

What do we do with nettles? Oh... you blanche them (that puts done to the stinging bit) and then we freeze them and eat them like spinach (like in spinach pie)... But fear not... we have a back-up patch elsewhere... but that is for another day.

The skunk cabbage are out... they are so pretty... and so stinky. It is sometimes known as Bearweed because bears are one of the few animals that will eat the buds and leaves.

But NOT this bear. Hmph. I draw the line there...

Alright... Mission Nettles was a fail but... now it's Mission Daffodils!

We'll just have to dodge this flooded bit...

And scramble up and around...

Oh, cute purple flowers!

But no daffodils yet (they grow wild here you know)... and this little bear needs some for the Bearbnb!

And... errrr... that pile of dirt is moving....

It's NOT dirt... it's an old stump that is literally heaving (that's a British word that Beanie Mouse likes to use when the train is busy)... with ants!

I am not sure what they are doing but they have black bodies and red heads which... to my little bear mind sounds dangerous. Or they might just be Thatching Ants...

Mama was trying to convince me to rest my foot close to them and...

I thought about it for a second and then...

No way!!! I do NOT need ants in my pants!

Cute little crocus out here in the wild...

It's so pretty up here although I did flush some ducks out of the flooded field...

Alright... onwards... through the woods, across the road, down the trail and...

Finally!!!! Daffodils!!!

Yes, there was a more direct route but where's the adventure in that! Wouldn't have seen the purple flower or the crocus or the ants! Plus... I got more kilometres towards the virtual PCT!

Excellent... fresh daffodils for the Bearbnb...