Forest floor

These ferns were along the path at the Emily Winthrop Miles wildlife sanctuary, part of the Sharon Audubon Center. I used to live there for nearly six years - it's 1200 acres of protected land, surrounded by another 5,00 acres of state forest. We had bears, coyotes, eagles, and all kinds of owls (and flying squirrels in our bedroom - another story!). Emily herself was quite an interesting character - a poet, sculptor and writer, and descendent of the first governor of Connecticut. The property was a dairy farm when she lived there (the barn was converted to the caretaker's house, and the stable into an office building) and one story I heard was that during the Great Depression, she hired dozens of men from town, even though she didn't need the help, just to keep them working.