Another Walk in the Woods

Another Walk in the Woods

A waist high ant nest

I would never call myself an outdoorsman or a woodsman.  Camping, with the smell of smoke on my clothes and grit under my nails and the choice between a cold wash-up in the creek and smelling like an exhausted racehorse is no choice at all.  And, sipping burnt coffee from a tin cup can never replace a dry martini in a well tended bar and a comfortable leather club chair.

I don’t hunt or fish, although plenty of my friends do.

But, I do enjoy solitude, which is a rarity indoors, with washing to be done and housecleaning and doorbells and financials that can’t wait, along with emails pinging and iMessages chirping and someone nearby who promises “This will only take a minute.”

So what’s an ‘only comfortable with comfort’ person to do.  I say choose both:  Outdoor strolls, then back to the comfort of home.  So, I take walks in the woods.

Do I mean hikes with a forty pound backpack, and plodding up steep, rocky hillsides?  No, I do not.  For me, it’s a three quarters of an hour stroll through the forests, my trusty camera at my side, hearing the music of the wind rustled leaves, admiring the serene beauty of nature, hearing birds chirping in the trees and watching wild ducks gliding through the water, the bright, careless beauty of wild flowers, the mystery of trails leading to other trails, and most of all, the complete lack of human contact, while only mild hills tax endurance.

The pleasant silence gives a body time to think and plan and figure out what’s important. Strangely, washing and mowing the yard doesn’t make the list.  You can mark out those five-minute jobs and grocery shopping, also.

On this trip through the woods, I got all I asked for and more.

Northern Pintails

A grass snake, about the size of a No 2 Yellow pencil

Relaxing, but not yet martini time.  Guess I better get started on the washing, pick up a few things at the grocers, clean out that closet and see if I can get the &Y^%$# computer to reboot.

Even the beauty of serenity doesn’t last forever.  But, now at least I’m rejuvenated.  Enjoy the rest of the photos!

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

In Germany, everyone walks.  The young, the not so young, the ancients who remember Bismarck as a young whippersnapper with a distant dream.  Seasons don’t matter.  I’ve seen German octogenarians pushing aluminum walkers, trodding through boot-deep snow, their hands clinging to the metal, a blissful look that screams “Hey, look at me!.”

I’m a fair weather walker, although I give the Germans their due as they splash through puddles of rainwater and treat it as of no account, and the flow of droplets from their rain slickers and wind tossed umbrellas.

Nope.  Not for me.  Neither rain nor snow. But I aint’ no postman!  I prefer happy thoughts and creative thoughts, not the prelim to survival situations.  Precipitation of all sorts is what houses were built for.

As both my faithful readers might guess by now….snoozing already?  Wake up!  This is important.  I’m about to take you for a walk in the German woods near my house.  Usually, I walk blissfully for at least a half hour and sometimes up to an hour.  But don’t worry, this stroll won’t take more than five minutes.

Spring, summer, and even close to autumn is best for yours truly. The wind in the green bushy leaves of the forest.  Ducks on the partially hidden ponds.  People sitting and idly chatting on the weather beaten wooden benches.  The spots of sunshine breaking bright and golden through the trees.  If it’s rained recently, best to watch your step. Slugs the size of your middle finger are unwanted pedestrians on the paths that leads across walking bridges and around the still waters of dark ponds and trickling brooks.

Enough chatter from me.  Let me show you the scenes you’ll see and allow you to dream the dreams that float through your mind.  Unless you’re living in the concrete jungle or an urban eyesore or the spreading abomination of endless antbed neighborhoods, I know you’ll find your own place of solace to stretch your legs and lose yourself in thoughts you never have time to think and plans forever trapped in tomorrow.

For now, let’s abandon the to-do list of mundane chores.

Relax.  I’m not talking about starting the timer, or beating your best time for a hip-swinging Olympic level strut.  I’m talking about observing your surroundings and deep breaths and putting a smile on your face at the sight of ducks placidly swimming and songbirds singing and insects chirping.

Divorce yourselves for a few precious moments, from the screeching call of the dust and broom and piles of wash and the rattle of the washing machine and phone calls from work and stressful familial duties.

This is time for you to renew and mentally repair. What’s an hour from your day?  Deep refreshment, the return of joy, the soul quenching sense of self, reaffirmation of a life worth living is what it is.

Come on!  Let’s stroll!