Let’s walk!

Morning light in the trees.

Take a discovery walk today to find what’s missing in your life. There’s peace in the whisper of the wind, hope in the sun smiling from behind clouds, strength in every step forward.

~ Toni Sorenson, The Great Brain Cleanse

At the beginning of the woodland trail. Looks like it was flooded last night. I wonder if the fish were swimming in the woods?

Do you ever feel as though you need a brain cleanse?  I do, and often when I feel that way, the best thing to do is go for a walk.  Not with a goal in mind, but just to meander.  That’s what I did this morning although I have to admit I did have a goal.  A couple of goals, actually.  I wanted to see what damage yesterday’s storm and last night’s wind had wrought (if any), and I decided the best walk I could do for my own Walktober post would be a walk around the Wabi-Sabi Ranch.  Or at least out to the dock and back since that’s the best my knee was able to do.

I could have used some walks and hikes from the past few weeks for this wrap-up post, but I wanted something closer to home now that the weather has made it possible for me to wander around outside and see what there is to see.  Very often we think we need to go somewhere new to make discoveries, but I’ve found that I can walk the same path day after day and still find something new or surprising.  Even so, it’s fun to explore new places and that’s what Walktober is all about.  Let’s see what everyone has been up to this year!

Last night’s winds tumbled a few trees.

The beautiful Princess Katie was the first to check in.  She wanted to do her own Walktober even though she wasn’t quite sure what a Walktober is.  If it involves “walk,” Katie said she wants to be included.  Katie’s Walktober was done with her friend Deuce and they explored a park that is new to her.  It was a fun walk in which Princess Katie learned to fly (and then had to repeat it a few times so her mama could capture it).

Thank you, Katie, for sharing your walk with us, and for taking us past such a lovely river.  I wanted to stop there for a while and admire the view, but Katie was eager to move on.

Taking a short detour off the woodland trail to look out over the marsh. High tide was higher than usual this morning.

Debbie from Musings by an ND Domer’s Mom took the next walk, and what a beautiful walk it was!  She took us to the Douglas-Hart Nature Center in central Illinois where there were all kinds of wonderful things to be seen.  My favorite, because I have such a whimsical mind, was what Debbie labeled “Home Sweet Home to the little critters.”  It looks like a good home for faeries who like to look out for the little critters.  Thank you, Debbie, for joining us this year.

Might as well look in the other direction while we’re here.

Dawn (who is Princess Katie’s mama and a Walktober regular) took us to a very special place for her walk.  She went to northern Michigan to stroll along the shore of Lake Michigan.  She must have picked the perfect day because every image she shared was gorgeous.  I tried to pick a favorite, but it’s nearly impossible.  Thank you so much, Dawn, not only for participating and taking us to a stunningly beautiful place, but for all the shout-outs you gave to encourage people to join Walktober.

Let’s see what’s happening out on the dock and the creek. (I can tell you one thing that’s been happening that I won’t show you. Some critter has been using the dock as his or her personal toilet. Lots of scat out there. I think, and I could be wrong because I am not an expert in scat, it’s one of the river otters.)

On our next walk, Eliza takes us to Hawley Bog, a place that is special to her.  I happen to love bogs (and my original blog, before the move to the Eastern Shore, was named Life in the Bogs), so I am thrilled that Eliza decided to take us to a bog.  Her photographs are spectacular and once again, I was unable to pick a favorite.  Thank you, Eliza, for sharing this sensitive habitat with us.

Looking out at the creek from the dock.

Walter, another newbie to Walktober, from Megadiverse Piedmont, takes us to the Chinqua-Penn Trail in Rockingham County, North Carolina.  In addition to the beautiful landscape (and wonderful photographs of the landscape), we saw cattle, silage, and some remnants of the plantation era.  It was a fascinating walk that also includes a bog.  Thank you, Walter, for introducing me to a region I’m unfamiliar with.

Stepping off the dock and getting back on the woodland trail.

Our last walk takes us to Finland with Samuel on a Cold but bright day where we go bird watching through a reedbed , then to Tiede Kulma which is associated with the University of Helsinki, and then on to Laajasalo, an island where Samuel got to visit an invisible haunted town.  Samuel’s photographs are amazing, and this was a somewhat exotic walk for me since I’ve never been to Finland.  Thank you, Samuel, for sharing your walks with us.

Looking up.

Unless someone has slipped in under the wire, or I somehow missed them, I think that about wraps up Walktober for 2017.  Thank you so much to all who participated.  I hope you’ll do so again next year.  For those of you who usually join in but were unable to this year, you were missed.  I know some of you are busy moving into new homes or taking care of elderly relatives or living a full life in other ways.

If I did miss you or somehow messed up the link to your walk, please let me know so I can fix it or add you.  My apologies to you if that did happen.

The boat in the woods. It’s been a while since I’ve photographed it. It’s been slowly falling apart and going back to the earth.

As for my own Walktober walk taken this morning, it was a beautiful morning to be out and about.  My favorite kind of weather: brisk and windy with air so fresh it almost makes me high.  It was a day for Wellies because we got nearly 3 inches of rain from the storm system that moved through yesterday and last night, and the ground was overly saturated.  The wind has been driving the water in from the bay, giving us higher than usual tides which contributes to the ground saturation.

Around the scrounger’s garden.

I went shortly after sunrise, after finishing my yoga and meditation practices (it’s day 41 for that, if you’re counting).  I spent a ridiculous amount of time staring up at the loblolly pines, watching them sway in the wind.  They sing when they do that.  It’s a creaking sort of sound, but a song nonetheless.  The wind sings it’s own song, of course, as do the birds who join in from time to time.

Past the vegetable garden on my way back to the house.

I reckon that’s about it for this year’s edition of Walktober.  My internet connection has been spotty today (which seems to happen on the same days that we hear the military planes booming overhead), making it difficult to get this post finished and published.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  I do hope you’ll visit some or all of the other Walktober walks so you, too, can share in the beauty that can be found when one goes out for a walk.

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

Another view of the marsh from an area near the house.

A few of the 10,000 reasons to be happy:  401)  All the wonderful Walktober walks.  402)  The way the light plays in the grasses of the marsh in the early morning.  403)  Cloud reflections on water.  404)  The dance of the loblollies on a blustery day.  405)  Autumn color being painted across the landscape (finally!).