Warm Up Hike - Ray Lowes Side Trail and Cootes Paradise

Woo hoo hiking season has arrived! Broken bones (mine) all healed and ready to go.  We thought we would do a warm up hike to get us started. Unfortunately Karen could not join us this time around. Although we were missing our pace-setter we took advantage of a more leisurely hike and I was able to take plenty of pictures.

We added to our proposed hike (below) by taking a walk through the RBG Cootes Paradise along the Captain Cootes Trail.  I will be back to visit more of the trails in this area with any willing victims.. hint hint.

It was a great day for a hike with no wind and just on the cooler side of mild  This early in the season there were no insects to annoy us.Valerie spotted the deer  (x 2) with her eagle eyes, and we saw plenty of birds and evidence of spring sprouting up through last year's fallen leaves.

All in all a great outing and we are looking forward to resuming the white trail hike next weekend.

The original plan but then we decided to walk through
Cootes Paradise on the Captain Cootes Trail

Two for the trail

Looking down the trail

Winding trail through the hardwood forest

Looking across

Daffodils in the the forest

Yellow buds

Canada Goose

Nice place to sit looking out at Hickory Island

Shooting the shooter

Hickory Island covered in cormorants

Must have been a busy woodpecker

Camoflaged 

White Breasted Nuthatch

Chickadee

Scilla

Wood Anemone

Coltsfoot

Unidentified - I thought they were snowdrops but I think not