With the weather still being moderate in October, the forest would be a wonderful place to spend some time. My wife and I would go on a short hike and appreciate one other’s photography. We were going to ride towards Tessenderlo. Gerhagen is a large natural park in that region.

Together with the Merode woods, the Gerhagen domain is the green lung of Tessenderlo in Belgium, comprising 945 acres and includes one of the largest contiguous forest complexes in Flanders. The forest was magnificent. Seeing the sunlight and the colourful surroundings made it all worthwhile.

The beginning did not go as planned, but I believe that everything happens for a reason. Roadblocks in this occasion made it impossible to get to the large parking space and reach the official starting point. So we took a slight detour and arrived at a different starting place in the forest of this big nature park. Our new starting site had a mystical element in the form of a Maria cave in the middle of the woods. It did provide a really pleasant atmosphere when we all sat down together in nature. Sometimes simply reminding yourself to sit still and adapt to stillness might provide many answers to difficult concerns that have been bothering you.

We didn’t plan anything and simply went with the flow. After a 5-kilometers journey, we came to a horseback riding school with beautiful terras. It did appear to be cosy, and our golden retriever was thirsty.

We fortify ourselves with barrel-aged craft beer. The sun shone directly in our faces, even though it was already the end of October. These are not ordinary circumstances. When was the last time we went hiking with only a shirt at this time of year? The environment is undoubtedly changing rapidly!

The high temperature is manifesting itself in the forest. I’d never seen so many mushrooms mildewy before. I suppose it’s too hot for them. However, there are some breathtaking sights to be seen during our journey.

I could already produce a gallery just of mushrooms from our trek in all their many forms.

I’ve created a little collection of photographs I snapped for you to enjoy as we did our 11-kilometers sunny walk. I simply adore being outside, especially with this mild weather.

There is always something fresh to uncover in the wild!
However, it is critical to maintain our forest clean and to respect our environment. When we all make little contributions, our children will have a beautiful forest to raise their children, our grandchildren!

Today is the day when we shape our future!

Thank you very much.