This past Sunday afternoon the weather was just perfect. It was like one of those first summer days with high wispy clouds and temperatures well above what they could have been for mid-November.

It was a good afternoon to lay all the yard work aside and take a long walk through the woods and fields around the house.

Years ago, I cut a path through our woods that crossed the creek bottom and led to the two property stakes on the north and south end. The path winds and curves around larger trees and misses the deeper water. I chose the route of least resistance, avoiding thick cat claw briars and muddy places.

For the past two years I have done very little to maintain the path. A few weeks ago, a neighbor asked if he could explore the woods. He likes to work, and in just two days, the path was restored to mint condition.

The woods are a special place to be this time of year. Every breath of wind brings down more leaves. Each day, the woods look more and more like winter rapidly is approaching.

We saw deer tracks and scrapes where the bucks had cleaned the velvet from their antlers. There are so many squirrel nests in the tall trees.

The squirrel population has exploded in the past few years thanks to the little garden and the sweet Silver Queen corn. I plant three rows for harvest, two for the squirrels and one for the insects and worms.

With the path in very good condition, we left the woods and entered the fields that contain the company tree farms. The last row of trees is planted in Little Gem Magnolias. The buck deer find their low sturdy branches to be excellent for scrapping their antlers. They have destroyed a few of the trees, leaving others untouched.

We then explored the vast farmland across the road. Four different people own sections of the land, but there are no boundary lines drawn. Most of the land was planted with sweet potatoes this year.

There were many potatoes left on the ground, some too small, some too large and some cut in half by the plow share.

Deer do not care why the potatoes were left in the field. Neither do the raccoons or the black bear family. Tracks of many animals remained in the fresh plowed soil.

Our journey carried us from field to field, and we visited the two ponds on the farms. We used to catch small Bream from the water holes to stock our pond when it was newer.

The creek leaves our land and forms the northern perimeter of the farms across the road.

We followed the creek bed to a very large 30-acre beaver pond in the woods.

The pond is a haven to the wildlife, most especially Mallards, Woodies and Canadian Geese.

We watch them fly over every afternoon, headed to the presentation of the water. Many times, the geese fly in after it is pitch dark.

The walk was relaxing and slow-paced. There was no time schedule except for the fact that it was getting dark.

It was a memorable afternoon with a special friend.

King