This area was hit very hard by a storm in Spring 2022 and many of the pine tree plantations in sandy soil got fucked right up.
The photos don't line up exactly but I got the feeling that part of my walk this morning was on a trail that was super hard hit. I'm glad to see my memory was correct and one of the photos I took today lined up well! I remember this sinking feeling about the deviation, and am so happy to see it bouncing back, full of native trees instead of the pine.
Bonus photo with fucked up tree roots being reintegrated into the forest circled in red
What I've noticed more and more is that this transition comes with smells. There's a smell for the last dry October evenings before cold nights and there's a smell for upcoming snow on a dry, grey and cold December day and there's a smell for the first walk with the dog in the spring when you just know you can leave the jacket at home from now on.
Yes, definitely! It's warmed up here but we had a few cool mornings where I said it "smells like back to school". I haven't been in a few years but it always brings back memories of that and of (Canadian) thanksgiving in the early fall. I look forward to that smell every year.