The Tualatin Hills Nature Park is a wildlife preserve with 222 acres of Oregon white oak and Douglas fir located in the rural area west of the Portland. Busy roadways with high fences border a section of the park, but once on the trails through the woods I found it is easy to forget the encroachment of sound and fast motion at the margin of this place. 

The wide pathways provide for an easy and quiet walk through this peaceful place, structured and maintained to create a separation from the off-trail tangle of botanical profusion that provides protection for wildlife. Looking beyond the paths, I could see that it would be quite easy to become lost in this space without the trails to follow. At this time of year, the early spring growth in shades of red and yellow add depth of color to the lichen-filled oaks and understory.