A Monday meander

A walk in the woods.

Come to the woods, for here is rest.  There is no repose like that of the green deep woods.

~ John Muir

On the Milburn Landing Trail. Pocomoke River State Park.

Yesterday M and I went to Pocomoke River State Park for a morning hike.  The weather was perfect for hiking.  Mostly sunny with puffy clouds streaming by, and the temperature in the mid-50’s.  Today’s meander is really Sunday’s meander, but no matter.  That’s the beauty of photography and blogging.  We can time travel.

Following my favorite hiking partner.

All the rain we’ve had over the past few weeks has painted the forest a green so green that I’m not sure there is a word for it.  Verdurous works, I suppose, but there should be a word that means magical and green, lush and rich, fresh and leafy, all at the same time.  Maybe the word I’m looking for is “enchanting.”

Looking up.

There were times as we were hiking that I thought for sure we’d see elves or fairies or maybe a hobbit or two on their way towards an adventure.

Sometimes the darkness and the green close in on you, and you begin to wonder what mystery lies ahead.

All forests are one . . . They are all echoes of the first forest that gave birth to Mystery when the world began.

~ Charles de Lint, Spiritwalk

Bluets (also known as Quaker Ladies).

It was a peaceful Sunday in the woods.  Just M and I and whatever creatures were scampering, rustling, singing, calling, chirping, and living in the forest.  The Milburn Landing Trail, which we started on, runs into the Algonquin Cross County Trail which wasn’t labeled on our map.  We turned on to it anyway, just to see where it would lead us.  The Algonquin Cross County Trail is a horseback riding trail, but there were no horses or riders out and about when we were there.  No signs of them, either.  Usually the trails get churned up by the horses during the spring months.  It made me wonder if, like in NE Ohio, the trails are closed to horses during the wet spring months.

The laurels are just beginning to bloom.

I had hoped there would be plenty of wildflowers in bloom.  I’m not sure if we missed them or if they haven’t bloomed yet.  Spring has been odd, some things blooming earlier than usual while others have been slowed down by the cold and rain.

Following the Algonquin Trail.

There were two forests for every one you entered. There was the one you walked in, the physical echo, and then there was the one that was connected to all the other forests, with no consideration of distance, or time.

The forest primeval, remembered through the collective memory of every tree in the same way that people remembered myth- through the collective subconscious that Jung mapped, the shared mythic resonance that lay buried in every human mind. Legend and myth, all tangled in an alphabet of trees remembered, not always with understanding, but with wonder. With awe.

~ Charles de Lint, Spiritwalk

The play of light and shadow in the woods.

We hiked about three miles or so, taking our time.  There was no need to hurry, no place else we needed to be although there were some afternoon plans to finish planting the vegetable plants in the garden so when we tired of walking and had made our way back to where we parked the car, we talked about stopping off at a local organic dairy on our way home for some ice cream to fortify us for the gardening work.

A gift from the trees. (Tulip poplar blossom.)

It was a much-needed excursion.  The past month has included several highs and lows, and that can be wearing and wearying on a person.  This walk in the woods helped us to regain our equilibrium as well as a sense of normality.  It was healing, the way that forest bathing can be.

Hello, Little Cow. (At the Chesapeake Bay Farms Dairy where you can buy the best ice cream in the world.)

Thank you for joining me on another meander.  Sunset this evening is at 8:08 PM.  Join me on the dock and we’ll watch it from there.  The sky is clear today so I don’t expect we’ll see much color, but that’s okay.  I’m sure it will beautiful no matter what happens.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

In a field of yellow and green.

Today’s joys:  Fresh air blowing through the trees and grasses; a pair of Eastern King Birds enjoying the perches in the front yard; waves and ripples on the water; time outdoors, weeding the garden and finishing the mowing; sunshine and blue skies.

Leaving the forest behind for now.