Beckett Walkers Walk

            I had an interesting walk with Fleur-Ange and the Brantford Beckett Walkers Group today. The group is made up of people between 60 something and 80 something, I think. Today they walked on the TH&B rail trail starting in Scotland. We all started at the same place and walked 45 minutes, or less, then turned and walked back to the start. People walked at their own speed, usually found someone else to walk with, and everyone got back at about the same time. Neat idea, I thought. Fleur-Ange & I walked just over 8k.

            You can see the route on the map below. We started at the parking lot on Oakland Road and walked north. We went over the Elliott Road, over the Maple Grove Road and turned around at the Fairchild Cemetery just south of the Marr Drive to walk back.

            

            Below you can see the trail from near the Fairchild Cemetery just as Fleur-Ange and I started back. Yes, all the trail in that area was paved. 

            Here is Fleur-Ange posing partially inside part of a machine that was used to grade gravel. Behind her and the machine part is a lake in what was once a large gravel pit. On the map above it is called  Willow Lake. It is currently surrounded by many, many camper trailers for summer "camping".

            Below is one of the 15 wild flowers that we found in bloom along side the trail today. This one is Bladder Campion / Silène Enflé / (Silene vulgaris).

            Other plants we found in bloom include the following:

New England Aster
Bouncing Bet, aka Soapwort
Butter and Eggs
White Campion
White Sweet Clover
Daisy Fleabane
Tall Goldenrod
Horseweed
Common Mullein
Queen Anne's Lace
Common Sow Thistle
Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle
Tansy
Common Yarrow