Limerick Forest
Limerick Forest comprises several tracts of land about an hour's drive from Ottawa. I've visited several of these tracts over the years for photography. In particular, the "Chalet Loop" trails at the Interpretive Centre on Limerick Road, near Oxford Station, are a favourite. The Friends of Limerick Forest hold an Open House at the Chalet Loop trails each winter. This is a family-oriented event with sleigh rides and other activities. Over 500 people attended this year, including me and a couple of my photography friends. As usual, I arrived a bit ahead of the official start of the Open House and quickly took to the trails. The plan was to meet up with my friends at the Interpretive Centre later in the afternoon. From there we would head over to Kemptville for a late lunch together. In the meantime, I was anxious to discover what photos Limerick had to offer on this trip. I usually head towards the Boardwalk, but this year I wanted to explore some of the other trails. I started with the Lookout Trail that I normally take towards the Boardwalk. But at it's end I took the EOMF Memorial Trail and then the Alf Campbell Trail. This brought me back in a loop to the Interpretive Centre. From there I then took the Old Homestead Trail and then the Jack Henry Envirothon Trail. This brought me back in another loop to the Interpretive Centre just in time to meet my friends. In all, about 6 km of easy walking over about 4 hours. I enjoy combining photography with socializing and this outing was a lot of fun. Unfortunately as I write this the COVID-19 Pandemic is now underway in Canada. This will put some constraints on socializing for a while. I look forward to the day, hopefully soon, when all that is past us, and we can all return to a normal life.