A Walk in the Woods

I love this time of year. Like spring, it's a season when things change. Here in Dallas, summer is unbearably hot and winter is unbearably boring. But at this time of year, things are in constant flux. So, I decided to take a walk over the weekend and check it out.

There is a wooded park with a nice paved path not too far from our house. Yesterday, I set out in mid-afternoon with senses attuned. I wanted to see, hear, feel and smell what was happening out in nature (or as close to it as we get in the big city). So, I tried to turn off my brain and just take it all in.

It's not been a "fiery" fall here as far as trees are concerned. There is a complicated scientific explanation for why our trees here in Texas turn beautiful colors or simply drop their dead leaves. Has to do with moisture, temperature, and the like. I'm jealous of people in other parts of the country and world who don't have to cross their fingers for the right voodoo and karma to be in place for a brilliant display. (Our recent trip to North Carolina opened my eyes--literally--to the stunning beauty that is what they call "foliage season.")

However, there is still much to see here. Crepe myrtles turned a brilliant red. Oak trees starting their transition from green to gold to maroon--in mosaic fashion depending on where the sun hits their leaves. Other trees and plants beginning, continuing, and even ending their colorful metamorphosis. The wildflowers (and weedflowers) making their final stand before a freeze shrivels them to brown. If you look carefully, you can find brilliant pinpoints of berries on vines and bushes.

And if you watch attentively, things change before your eyes. A gust of wind grabs leaves already on their way to obsolescence and send them fluttering to the ground. (It's great to hear the wind hit the leaves, then to hear the falling ones bounce through the branches and hit the ground. If you listen, you really can hear all that.)

You can also hear the crunching leaves underfoot where previously there was only grass. Every now and then, there's a rustle in the trees or on the ground. I always stop and try and see who's causing the ruckus. Usually it's a bird or a squirrel. They're sometimes hard to track but it's fun to spot them.

Try and make a minute to stop and sit down. Drill down to an even smaller level. Ants. Other bugs. Rocks. Individual leaves and plants. It's like taking in a large masterpiece and then leaning in to focus on the particular brushstrokes. The light is even different these days. The sun is lower on the horizon so the light is "flatter" and less intense. And there are fewer leaves for it to fight through, so there's more of it to enjoy.

I ended my jaunt refreshed and amazed at what is out there for us to see. Hope you'll get out on your own adventure. In a park. In your neighborhood. Or even in your back yard. Turn "off" other distractions (including that never-ending "I should be" to do list in your mind) and take in what Mother Nature has to offer. She's working hard to make our lives beautiful. We just have to take the time and effort to appreciate it.