On the Path -- February 20th, 2012

This is a milestone of sorts for me. It's my 100th posting on my blog. When I started the blog I wasn't sure if I'd keep using it for more than a few weeks. It was an experiment on my part to see what blogs were all about. Since then it's almost taken on a life of its own.

Many of you have emailed me, or told me in person that you enjoy the blog. I truly appreciate your kind comments. Thank you again.

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There's still a fair bit of snow on the ground from our snowfall the other day... about as much as we've had at any point this winter, so I took my shirt-pocket point & shoot along with me today. 

Snow clinging to the trees is always a beautiful sight. I haven't seen it like that on the path yet... other than out the front window a couple times. But then it was gone before I went on my walk.

Nature has her own "tree huggers".

The woods is a favorite spot for people to take a stroll or walk their dogs.

Yellow Birch look gorgeous in the sunshine.

The trees on the path catching the late afternoon sun are a pretty sight too.

What a great surprise this was... an early sign of Spring! The Pussy Willows are breaking out of their buds.

From the web...

Reference 1:

The Pussy Willow, as all willows, provides a compound called 'salicin' which is similar to the active ingredient in most over-the-counter painkillers. Native North Americans have extracted it from the bark and roots for a painkiller and anti-fever medication.

http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub44.htm

Reference 2:

Willow bark is full of salicin, which is a key ingredient in acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). Its medicinal properties were recognised by ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks and Native North Americans. Willow is not the only plant which contains salicin, though, and the best-known modern use of the medicine, in Bayer Aspirin, originally came from spirea. In fact, the "-spir-" in Aspirin comes from spirea.
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=959653 

Can Coltsfoot be far behind?

- fini -