Lord Hill Regional Park — Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020

Headed out for Lord Hill: Part 2 today. The west side trails seem to be in pretty good shape, with only a few pockets of squelchy mud here and there. Someone's been busy clearing some of the blowdowns and other debris from the last windstorms (bravo!) Signs of spring are beginning to appear here too; bleeding hearts and nettle foliage are just starting to poke up from the forest floor, and leaf buds are starting to swell on the salmon berries and vine maples. The velvety mosses are brightening up to a vibrant shade of green, covering trees, stumps and rocks like a lacy cloak. The river is running high and fast, and many of the small streams look like they've found new paths. In some places they have washed out all the sediment down to bedrock.

Various birds were much more active than on my first visit. Chickadees and wrens were busy combing through the understory, cheerfully chirping away. Ducks and geese at some of the ponds, and ravens calling in the treetops. Spent a while watching a kingfisher catching salamanders that were nearly as big as he was.

For a relatively nice weather day, there did not seem to be many people on the trails. A few joggers, a couple small groups around the quarry, and a single horseback rider. Then again, this place seems so big that I'd imagine even on a busy day it would be easy to spread out all the different trail users.