A Walk in the Woods

I’ve been walking again today.  I went to my favorite park, Borderland.  It amazes me at the variety of trails I can take when going through there, and how my choice of walking buddy can alter what I see, hear and smell, as well as how I feel when I am in there.  Today I chose to go alone.  This is sometimes a dangerous choice for me, as I get into my head way too much, but today I was able to center on what I saw, heard, smelled and felt around me. It was extraordinary!

 The sun chose to play hide and seek with me throughout my walk.  When it did appear, it was that weak sun of late autumn.  The sun that tried to warm, but couldn’t quite do it. The trees were bare, but even so, the light was filtered and anemic.  

 I walked and not only felt, but heard the crunch of gravel beneath my feet.  The leaves I had swished through a month ago were flat and dull brown.  They were wet and cemented to the ground.  It was as if I were in a different park.  The leaves that had still clung to the trees and muffled the sounds above them were gone.  I heard jets swooshing through the sky.  They seemed incongruent with the nature below.

 At this point I needed to make a decision.  The late afternoon sun reminded me that I only had a short time to enjoy the park this day.  Perusing the mental map I had of the park, I chose my path.  It would take me along the edge of one of the larger ponds in the park.  I hadn’t travelled it for a long time and looked forward to the surprises it would bring. I studied the bark of the many trees I passed on the way to this path.  The cedar with almost parallel lines of bark.  The birch with peeling bark, like paper.  Now covered with a blanket of moss.  Here was my path!  I turned and found a very different topography.

 The path was covered with uncovered roots, looking like the knotted veins on an old man’s hand.  I had to be mindful of where I walked or I would wind up on my face!  The giant pines that lined this path had an irresistible odor.  It smelled like Christmas all along!  I noticed that the ground sounded hollow as my feet hit it, a consequence of the roots being so close to the surface of the ground.  It was a lonely sound, and I felt very solitary as I walked along.  Fortunately, I was not alone in my desire to explore today.  I met many young couples as I meandered along the trail.  It seemed strange that I was only encountering young couples and I wondered if I had stumbled upon some secret.

 I laughed too as I noticed a brace of ducks on the pond. They skimmed its calm, silvery surface and occasionally would dunk their heads and flip their curly feathered backsides upward as they searched for delicacies at the bottom.  Their discordant quacks added to the humor.  Their juxtaposition with the mirror-like, serene water was hard to ignore and I wondered if any predators also noticed the comical show they performed.

 I came to the end of the trail and emerged at a different view of a familiar place.  The little stone lodge which frequently greeted me at the end of my excursions was cold and deserted today.  There was no smoke curling from the chimney, welcoming me inside. I went in anyway.  The fireplace was cold with a stale smell of fires that had come before.  The room was abandoned and disconsolate.  I shivered against the chill and left the lodge, back in the ever-weakening sunlight. The clouds had won the battle for now, and the sun was hidden from sight.

 I walked the last hill and came to my car.  I wondered at how the same stretch of woodland could have so many faces, so many dispositions.  God in His wonder had made this place and all of the myriad of sights, sounds, smells and feelings that it had.  It amazed me that I had walked a familiar stretch of woods once again and had had a unique experience once again.  All we need to do is open our senses and take in the unique day and thank Him for it!

  This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24