Today being Earth Day, I wanted to post a photo celebrating the beauty of our natural world. This photo was taken today in Larose Forest. The moss-covered logs are slowly decaying, adding nutrients back into the soil, but in the meantime they provide homes for salamanders, beetles, bugs, and many other creatures, of which more than a few provide food for others higher up the food chain. Last year's evergreen ferns (Drypopteris sp)add to the lush feel of this forest floor. Meanwhile, new growth is carpeting the forest too, Canada Mayflower, trout-lily, new ferns, trilliums, etc.