To get to the university when I was in grad school, I walked half an hour through a forest, part of Cootes Paradise. It was amazing, especially in spring. First the tips of the skunk cabbage would push up above the muddy swamp, then the buds on the trees would appear. For maybe 10 days in May, the forest floor would fill with trilliums.
It's time for a hike into the deep forest.
I'm feeling nature-deprived. Hubski, are you?
Yes, a thousand times yes. Our new home has a stream that runs through the back yard. I'm very much looking forward to spending time in it. I'm also looking forward to camping out in our backyard as a test-run for more elaborate camping trips with the kids. I could use some alone nature time too though. A quiet walk by myself sounds nice but I cannot recall the last time that happened. Good tip lil, sometimes I don't realize how much I need/miss something until someone else brings it up.
I do miss the physical activity and time I spend outdoors when I was in college walking from place to place. I would routinely walk an hour to hang out with friends. Wasn't a big deal, I wasn't doing anything else, right? Plus I got plenty of nature/outdoors time in. It's warmer here than it was, but still kind of borderline-not-really-pleasant. I am really gunning for the 80-degree weather.
Opening this to read tomorrow morning -- I spent a week reinvigorating myself in the Everglades last month ... before that, god yes I was feeling "nature-deprived." Did you know that the tree islands in the Everglades, created by little mounds with just a few inches of elevation, are surrounded by moats? The moats get started in a process that I don't fully understand but it involves the decomposition of the trees themselves -- and when fires sweep through the Glades, the moats protect the tree islands and they survive. Also I saw many baby owls. EDIT: this is apparently my 500th day on hubski. To 500 more! I'd drink, but there's a power outage and I can't find my kitchen.