Category Archives: nature

Wordless Wednesday- free and priceless all at once

26 Wednesday Dec 2012

Posted by in nature, walks, wordlessness

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When I take the time – when I invest in rising early and getting away from all the technology and to do lists, all the striving, trying, doing, figuring out – I’m always, always rewarded.  Two things amaze me every time.  The first is that taking time in nature is absolutely free.  Aside from the gas and the $1.00 toll to get back home over the Mississippi River Bridge, I don’t pay anything for my sunrise walks.  The second is how much it seems that time spent simply walking amidst the plants and the animals ought to be worth.  How do you put a price on inner peace?  Really.  It never fails that I’m more relaxed, more clear, and more centered.  And it also never fails that no matter what the weather, no matter what season, I’m also filled with wonder and appreciation.  And whatever my “big deal” plans for the day, month, or year are – well they’re all well and good, but they’re truly minor in the grand scheme of the shifting of the seasons or the life span of a tree.  Or the age of the moon.  Whatever’s really important in my life rises to the top when I spend part of my day walking quietly in nature.

Please enjoy this selection from my most recent walks, and if you’re in the NOLA area, join me for a wordless sunset/moonrise walk this Friday evening, December 28.  We’ll meet at 4:30 at the Bayou Coquille trailhead, and spend a little bit of time setting some intentions for 2013 before we walk and see what nature has to reveal for us. Details here. Get in touch if you need more info!

 

Wordless Wednesdays – swamp and beach magic

28 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in nature, wordlessness

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The swamp becomes more quiet as fall transitions to winter.  No more insect whirring or frogs chirping.  Occasional crows, songbirds and owls.  Our wordless walk this past Sunday was so sunny and beautiful, with golden and red leaves scattered on the forest floor, mixed in with deer prints.

I thought to myself as I walked in the sunny spot where a couple of the last of the dragonflies were flitting, “I need to come more often.  I could come for sunrise.”  So I did.  Monday and today.  And maybe more days in the future.  Going to bed earlier and getting up for sunrise at the swamp.  It’s worth the 25 minute commute for an hour of meditative quiet walking in such a beautiful place.

Enjoy the photos of fall in the swamp.

And for those of you in the NOLA area, my next hosted Wordless Walk is December 16 at 9:00 a.m.  More details here.  I’d love to see you!

Lastly, here’s one last treat; a wordless video of the sparkling blue green water of the Gulf of Mexico, taken during my wonderful week at the beach over Thanksgiving!  Enjoy!

Why go out in the rain?

01 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in nature, oneness, walks, wordlessness

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You plan a walk or a hike and then it rains.  So you stay inside and postpone the walk until the weather’s better.

I’ve done it plenty – I’ve stayed inside because of rain.  I like dry weather and blue skies and long views.  But I’ve also learned to like fog and mist and rain and even a downpour here and there.  I’ve learned to love raindrops dripping from flowers and leaves all shiny and wet.

While I’ve never been a fan of hiking in the mud- in fact walking in mud for fourteen miles on my first day on the Appalachian Trail in Vermont made me cry – I realize that a walk in the rain can often be lovely. It shifts the perspective closer- to the moss on the trail side, or a bark-darkened tree, or a puddle adorned with fallen leaves.  Rain puts up a curtain around the long views so you notice what’s right in front of you.  Sometimes its a box turtle in the trail.  Or a squirrel fixing up a nest for the evening.

Last night I hosted a wordless walk – it was supposed to be to enjoy the sunset and moonrise, but clouds and rain all day made visibility of the sunset unlikely.  So people who’d planned to attend the walk mostly stayed away  – rain tends to do that.

I learned from six months hiking the Appalachian Trail that if I only hiked when it wasn’t raining, I would never finish the journey. It rains a lot in the eastern woodlands. Yesterday I had nowhere I needed to be and I could have easily stayed home and canceled the walk, knowing that people understand that you don’t go out walking in the rain.

But I’d been inside too much this week.  So I went. And I’m so glad I did.  The quality of light as day shifted to night was magical.

The rain was only a sprinkle here and there.  I really did watch a squirrel prepare its nighttime cozy spot.

And the moon peeked out from the clouds for a moment!

The breeze was the absolute perfect temperature, and I got what I’d come out for – stillness for my soul.

Here’s one more wordless video for you – raindrops on the bayou.  Watch the ripples.  So calming.

So what are your thoughts? Will you go walking in the rain?  What do you love about rain?