Occasionally, to add variety to my workout routine and have a nature interlude I will head to the Santa Monica mountains for a hike, with my camera, a “photo hike” if you will.  The Solstice Canyon trail was my recent destination. It is a serene and relaxing park with a few trail options of differing difficulty levels. I decided to focus on something different to photograph this time. Instead of capturing the big picture, which I usually do when hiking on this trail, I looked to the small details.  The patterns in the leaves, rocks and tree trunks were the subjects that day. The delicate leaves of this plant still have dew drops lingering.

ground cover green carpet

A tree trunk caught my eye. . .

“A” bark

Then this fungus.

false turkey tail fungus

And the water of the stream gently flowing over the rocks.

creek-size cascade

Suddenly a loud squawk overhead pulled my attention from the quiet details of the flora to the noisy insistence of the fauna as I was joined by two parrots.

parrots

Solstice Canyon is full of opportunities to experience the beauty of the Santa Monica mountains and get exercise at the same time.  The area has been hit with many wildfires over the years and there are remains from a few of the homes that used to stand there. Next time, I will be exploring some of these; always with an eye for the details but not forgetting the big picture!

If you would like to learn more about Solstice Canyon here is a link to the National Park Service information  

~ Sue