Yesterday we discovered a new trail. The trail goes straight up the hill behind our home. It seems to be well used by mountain bikers, ATVs and fellow hikers. From the top of the hill there is a beautiful view of the lake, a perfect spot for a picnic. Along the trail we collected items for our Nature Exchange. We found some really neat items including half a deer jaw with teeth and some lichen covered sedimentary rock. Many of the Ponderosa pine along the trail were burned. Some were still alive thanks to their thick protective bark. We also discovered a young Douglas fir, an Oregon grape bush, which is completely unrelated to grape vines but produce edible berries, and plenty of sagebrush and rabbitbrush. We used this handy Tree Book: Learning to Recognize the Trees of British Columbia to help us identify various trees. I am sure we will be spending more time exploring this new trail.