Chehalis River and Stanley Park in Vancouver

Due to a (hopefully temporary) medical ailment recently, I have been careful not to spend much time in my garden. Not even much walking through it, since I can't just walk through it without starting to pull weeds, and next thing I know, I'm tackling blackberry vines (relentlessly invading over the fence!) and such.

Thankfully, I have been able to continue with just about everything else, including activities with the family. Last weekend we enjoyed a hike along the Chehalis River, and have a few photos to capture the moments (click any for a *slightly* larger view, since I reduce my photos to reduce loading time).

I love these "spooky" moss-drenched trees we get out here on the west coast. I am dreaming of attempting a painting of such a scene one day (or maybe I should finish my first painting project before I start a second one - ha ha):
I love the textures on this mossy rock, found near the river:
This neat bug (somewhat purple in the iridescence of its wings) appeared to be some sort of wasp:
This tree looked curious, perched precariously above the river, as if the ground has been swept away below it:
It made a great spot to sit for a photo:
The other side presented a similar opportunity, with the kids crawling underneath its roots:
Me, I wasn't as adventurous for my photo:
Early that week, we took the kids out for their first rollerblading adventure, on the seawall at Stanley Park:
It was sunset:

Kind of magical, don't you think? We live in a beautiful part of the world, for sure.