Finding Nature

   It is not always possible to be out in nature like we desire - due to weather or other constraints like injuries or illness, or just not enough time to travel, or not enough money to take exotic trips to far away places.

Bridge over troubled waters

   I have been spoiled by being able to wander the trails over nearby parks in Upstate New York. But this past year has been different, due to injuries that keep me from hiking or travelling to full capacity.
   As an example, over this year's Easter break, I wanted to try a new trail, to be somewhere not so crowded. Now, since I have been coming to some of these parks for several years now, the park employees and many residents have come to know me as a fellow hiker and nature lover. Since being injured, I have been treated very kindly, taking up offers from others to drop me off either at the site of the waterfalls, or to the trail head, so that I can easily scoot downhill about 50 feet to a marvelous stream with a wooden tree bridge, and lie down on a rock shelf to meditate and just appreciate nature.
   I had the sense that there were no other people around for at least a half mile. It was utterly quiet - even the birds were not making noise. Only the sound of the water rushing by in the stream that wound downhill to my favorite waterfall in the area, and occasionally the wind would rustle the trees.
   Things were still not in bloom, no leaves on the trees, but there is a sound in the evergreens, that is a kind of whistling, and even small branches can make a clicking sound in a strong enough wind. Luckily, since it was early Spring, the sun was very warm, making it a pleasant day - just warm enough.
   But on any mountain, weather can change quickly, with dropping temperatures, or rising winds, or the appearance of clouds, and a chill in the air. And so we adjust to what Mother Nature brings us, and we act accordingly.
   On many Spring excursions there has been alot of ice and snow on the ground, as well as tracks of a wild animal, which appeared to be that of a bobcat, for hopefully the bears would still be asleep. Ice and snow has its own crystal clearness and cleansing quality, even the air is crisp and still. The waterfalls are still in motion, yet it appears their droplets of water freeze like crystals in the air, temporarily suspended, until they fall down the cliff to the stream below. But that momentary suspension is also like being suspended in time. Everything stops. And yet everything around you is alive.
   These moments in nature is what can nurture and heal us in body, mind and soul. When it gets too cold or I know I have reached my limits for being outdoors, I go back to my favorite Bed and Breakfast nearby and sit on the front porch of the elegant Victorian house that is shared by 3 other rooms. You can sit, facing the mountain, but get the warmth of the late day sun coming down the sky, towards the mountain, until it disappears into twilight. All too often it is too cloudy to find the stars, but somehow you know they are there, just beyond your reach. Huddled in my coat, I sometimes bring a blanket to wrap around me. And eat my take out dinner. Just to be outdoors for as long as possible.
   Even retreating indoors, you can still sense what is going on just over the hill, in the trees, the mountain, the fields and meadows, the rocks and streams and rivers.
   So even if you can't travel, or hike long distances, you can still be outdoors, and be a part of the cathedral of nature. This is a way of natural living.
   Hope you find some time to enjoy this way of life as I have done.

Maery

A December Day........

   I took a walk in the morning at Crab Meadow in Northport, New York, amazed at the quality of light through the trees on the shore beyond, at a place called Makamah. It is part of a vast nature preserve, acres upon acres of marshland and grasses and home to wildlife including geese, ospreys and many local songbirds. The light can be different on any given day, depending on the time, the season, the weather. So on this particular morning I walked and was caught by this scene in the trees with my camera and wanted to share it with you all, because it gave me a sense of peace and serenity, which hopefully you will sense as well.

   At the tip of Makamah and Crab Meadow is a small peninsula where the waters rush to meet the Long Island Sound, with views of the Connecticut shore beyond. And so too the water changes every day, in color, vibrancy, currents and tides, as though King Neptune was displaying his moods, in combination with the winds. At this spot is where the seagulls usually gather on warm days in the summer, usually moving a bit more inland to be protected from the prevailing northwest winds of winter.

   This little fellow looks like he is about to put his foot in the water, as though testing the waters, but of course my camera just happened to catch him in midair. The water flowing into the preserve from the Long Island Sound is rarely this color blue, usually more greenish and neutral. There was something special about this day.

   A small sandy beach leads down to the water, and across is the beginnings of the vast marshes. Often protected from the winds here, it provides a quiet sanctuary.

   
   And not far from Crab Meadow, on the way to Asharoken, one can see The Twins and Little Fawn, a small family of deer that live in the woods where Chief Asharoken once lived in his Indian Village in the 1600's. Each week they grow bigger. Hopefully they will survive the winter.

   I hope you have enjoyed spending this day with me.

Maery
December 2015