Annual Glen Morris Bike Trip

This afternoon Alyssa and I made a trip down to Glen Morris to go for a bike ride on the Cambridge to Paris Rail Trail.  The trail is great at all times of the year, forest slopes thick with spring ephemerals, groundwaterfed swamps and marshes, prairie bluffs, it's got it all.  Access is the only issue, some of my favourite spots are kilometres from any dead end road or formal trail head so bicycle is my preferred method of transport.

With a Thanksgiving dinner lined up for this evening we took the shorter option, starting at Glen Morris and traveling south to the north end Paris.  We saw a few Eastern Gartersnake basking on the trail and in some open woodland areas.  I think we had a high of 22ºC today.

The picture below is one of my favourite vistas, standing in among a patch of tallgrass prairie at the crest of a steep bluff, looking south toward Paris.

Many of the Smooth Aster, Sky Blue Aster ad Heart-leaved Aster are past flowering, this Frost Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum) caught my eye.  Frost Aster is quite common in this area and is most easily identified by the densely hairy stem (akin to frost).

The dry banks and moist channels along the trail are quite something right now with a selection of Dogwoods (Red Osier, Alternate-leaved, Grey, Silky and Round-leaved), the orange and yellow warm season prairie grasses and the Witch Hazel (photo below) are lime green going on gold.

Just aching for a prescribed burn!! Why aren't more cyclists flicking their cigarette butts? Ha!