Awareness, movement, marks in the earth - all require different skills than research on the Internet.
I started out thinking I could create a balanced life in both domains. I realize now why I cannot. It has to do with how I move, what parts of my body move and how my brain processes the incoming information. (more…)
Mycologists in Michigan and West Virginia are already reporting their morel findings. I figure it’s never too soon to begin checking under the leaf litter.
I didn’t find morels, but trout lilies and wild garlic are abundant and easy to gather in this pliable earth. The first violet leaves are emerging. My little woodland patch of knotweed is also sending up tiny shoots.
While I was foraging, so was this hawk. I didn’t click at the right time to get a photo of the catch. But this tolerant bird hung around close enough to let me photograph the feast.
The last time I saw this amazing bird was 10 years ago. I was actually turning around in a trail head parking lot late yesterday, when this woodcock crossed my path. It flew off before I could get my camera into moving picture mode.
Tags: Hiking
On tightly wound coils. The fierce, gale-force winds have been blowing for over 24 hours. Snow flurries swirled and collided just before dusk, then the sun appeared briefly before setting. The full moon makes it harder to see some of the other stars.
I’ve been reading and listening to news reports. I have to stop doing that. I need to get outdoors and hike, but monsoon rains and the dangers of high winds have been enough to keep me working on my homework for Mushroom U. Sorting out boletes is no small task. The good news is that there are no deadly boletes, although sorting out the bitter lookalikes from the choice edibles takes “dirt time,” and a workable key to sort out details.
The more I want to improve my nature skills, the more carefully and slowly I need to move in nature and in research. So, what do I do for exercise? These past few months, swimming and aquatic exercise. But the gym is far, which tugs at my carbon footprint issues and my budget.
I am blessed. My needs are met. My biggest concern is avoiding nature deficit disorder. It all seems so tangential, until you realize that trees are critical to our ability to breathe clean air. Trees also keep soil from eroding and prevent flooding.
Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, writes that deprivation from nature causes “increased feelings of stress, trouble paying attention, feelings of not being rooted in the world.”
I am blessed, I know where I can get a good 5-mile hike protected from the prevailing winds. That’s exactly the right way to celebrate this first full day of spring.
Tags: Hiking, Political, Survival
The shortest day of the year is not only the darkest, but often the coldest day. Here are some ways to celebrate the fact that after December 22, 2007 at 6:08 AM GMT, the days will start getting longer: (more…)
Tags: Hiking, Nonfiction, Tracks, Trees
Thanks to New York State’s DEC, Cornell University and three nurseries, 330 trees will help control the erosion of this riparian floodplain.
I was astonished to learn that the trees from one of the nurseries, RPM, were seeds one year ago.
Tags: Hiking, Survival, Trees, Water, Wind
I like this time of year. I want to feel good about the beauty around me. But I cannot ignore the impact of the extreme drought conditions on my favorite trails.
I love wild apples. These were probably planted and then left to go wild. They are crisp, tart and taste like autumn to me.
When it gets hot and humid, I try to take sunrise hikes. Right now, sunrise is closer to 7:00 AM. I typically end my sunrise hikes by 7:00 AM in the summer.
I got close enough to these birds to be sure they are not turkey vultures. Black vultures have white legs and white marks on their wings.
