Finding jewels in the woods

Lance and I headed out for a ride through the woods this evening, but had to get by the mountain lions first. The two neighbor boys were hiding in the trees on their property across the lane from ours; when they decided to climb a tree, Lance went from high alert to high-tailing outta there! Our electric gate hadn't closed behind us yet, so he spun and bolted through it for the barn. I managed to get him stopped, then we turned to face the danger once again. We ended up riding back and forth by the tree several times (I got them to talk a little, which helped), and Lance even held it together when they jumped down again. I was proud of him!

Our ride on the lane through the wooded ravine was pleasant but uneventful at first. I was half watching for wildflowers even though it is too early, when there at our feet was my favorite, the wild iris:

Then I spotted the first of several wild pink-flowering currants,

and a LOT of trillium down by the creek. I couldn't get close to the trillium because there wasn't safe access for Lance; I had to settle for low-light zoom shots.

Rides like this feed my soul. :-)