Hemlock. Kaleidoscope. Confusion. Illusion.

These adorable tiny Western Hemlock tree pine cones, hundreds, thousands, collect in piles and eventually become duff on the forest floor: a thick, cushiony carpet, quality dirt on a trail where you must remove your shoes and walk barefoot, because it feels so good and so soft, a rest from rocks and roots. It’s strange how they transform into something so unrecognizable.