Harewood Mines Road

One of our favorite dogwalking spots is just up around the corner(kind of) along Harewood Mines Road. In the meadows between the groves of arbutus and conifers are fields of moss, succulents and wildflowers. The world here seems soft and pillowtopped. The mosses are inches and inches thick, a wild variety of greens, reds, whites, furry, sticky, plain jane or wildly showy.
Sadly, off-road vehicles are coming here more and more, despite the fact that Nanaimo has extensive designated motorcross and four-wheeler trails and parks. They come here and spin out in the lush, dense moss, destroying such a precious and fragile ecosystem, tearing through foliage right down to the slickrock beneath it. It will take the mosses 25 years to recover here.

Over the weekend, Michael and I took Eem-er up for walkies there...the last trip the car made, in fact. We seemed to have caught the leading edge of the coming wildflower bloom...Soon there will be a colourful blanket of of pinks, yellows, purples, blues, greens, white. Hopefully, that won't be ruined by the same asshats killing the mosses.

The tiny mushies I love still abound. Still damp enough to keep them going a while longer...and the mosses are soft still, and in bloom, as well. Did you know that different mosses bloom? I didn't know that until I found this place.

This one is my favorite...the moss itself turns a deep, earthy red. It is so gorgeous. And then it blooms this beautiful little white flowers. The flowers are tinier than even this photo...much tinier. Who knew that moss could break your heart?!? Moss!

I am not sure if these are pink Fawn Lilies or not, but I think so. Their shape looks so different than the white fawn lilies I am used to seeing. Some of the online photos I compare mine to match and some don't. So my googling failed me on this one...but I was rewarded on my other google search....Michael spotted them. I had walked right past them.

Treasure.

Magic.

Real magic.

And we got to see it.

Such sweet moments.

And we're sharing it with you.

Calypso Orchids. Fairy Slippers . Venus's Slippers.

In the states, this is considered a threatened or endangered species. You couldn't drive your four-wheelers or motorcross motorcycles through this habitat. I don't know if that is the case here and I don't really know who to contact to find out. I really need to learn my way around Canadian government a little, don't I?

Sigh.


*Bye, Eddie. My grandma is gonna be waiting at the gates for you....so be prepared to sing for her!!!!

***What I thought were pink fawn lilies are, in fact, called Shooting Stars. I love Flickr's ID Please Group. Took less than two minutes to get an answer and I had googled for hours!