What is the most beautiful thing you've ever seen on a walk? Later this week, I’ll be sharing a walk that involved a very special guest plus a whole HEAP of gorgeous flowers. So, I’d love to hear about something stunning that you’ve come across during one of your walks. 🌷
Almost every night (except when I am with my special someone), I do an 1-2 walk--usually starting around 10 and usually ending after midnight. I walk near my house, I am not a hiker---I want to be close to home just in case I have the urge to listen to a record or nap--so my walks are close to home. Recently, nearly every night there are three owls that I meet along the way, I think they are screech owls and I try to talk with them---I imagine they are just mocking me. But the do an odd dance for each other up on the tops of the tree limbs. And the deer, there are so many deer and they allow me to come up close to them, that is until my bad dog frightens them. If you get to Columbus again, I'd be happy to take you on this not so long but long walk.
I live in a weird part of LA where if you walk about two miles, there's a neighborhood where people keep horses in the garage of their apartment buildings. On a very windy day by the river, two horses were released into a corral where they frolicked and jumped and ran around. With egrets and herons on one side in our little river and horses on the other, it was a bit of magic in a cityscape.
There are many herons that inhabit the bayous in our neighborhood. The great blue heron is so majestic and still - seeing one brings me such peace. The yellow-crowned night herons are so striking with their distinctive eyelines and the feather coming off the back of their heads. It's such a treat to see them in the morning or evening stillness and reminds me to breathe and be still.
It was on my birthday on the 25th of February, and I was in Asturias on the Camino del Norte-after a couple of rainy stages during which I struggled, a streak of warm, sunny days had followed, and I was alone, walking on bright green fields, flanked by the turquoise Atlantic at the edge of the cliffs. I was in a good mood, as the temperature had shot up to 26C, and merrily going along my way, when I ran across a group of goats who had circled around two of their largest members. These two had intertwined their horns, and appeared to be dance-fighting, yet neither was winning since they were of equal strength. Up till that point, I had gotten used to seeing-and smelling!-plenty of dairy cows, whose docile eyes and nature had rendered them harmless. Seeing these wild animals in their element reminded me of how powerful nature is, and how I, the human, had encroached upon their territory.
On a trail less than a mile from my home in New Jersey, there is a peaceful lake with a stone dam from 1893. On one of these trips to this dam, a baby beaver was sitting on a small branch. It was an adorable fuzzy brown lump on a log. My dad tried to come closer and it dove into the water at a speed which I didn't think existed in beavers. You couldn't even blink.
On another one of these trips, I saw many ducks and a Blue Heron gracefully swimming on the Lake. It was very active for some reason. Walking back home, I saw it again, but it was flying maybe two yards away from us. It landed about 5 yards away, on a fallen tree behind brambles, and I was able to get some (not very good) pictures. Until then, I had not realized than Blue Herons were so large, as I had only seen them from far away, and, well... blue! The distance had drained their beautiful color, and now, up close, it was restored.
The most beautiful thing I've ever seen on a walk and, indeed, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen was on Churchill Island in Victoria, Australia. I went with a friend on a research trip on a cold autumn day, one of those ones when its foggy and glarey and you can't tell where the horizon begins. A mix of pinks, blues and yellows converged as we sat on a park bench. I don't believe in heaven but if there is one, it would look like that.
Also pretty much anything I've ever seen on any walk in New York. There's always some beauty to find in amongst the trash, from community gardens to street art to random architecture.
Once I was on a hike in the mountains near Rome, it was a cold winter day and there was a freezing wind blowing but it felt good to be out and about and discovering the area. We had the path all to ourselves, except for some horses. There was a group of four horses including a beautiful foal, who was very curious and brave. It came right up to sniff me as I stood as still as a statue, so as not to scare it away. It lasted only a minute or so but it was a magical moment <3
Almost every night (except when I am with my special someone), I do an 1-2 walk--usually starting around 10 and usually ending after midnight. I walk near my house, I am not a hiker---I want to be close to home just in case I have the urge to listen to a record or nap--so my walks are close to home. Recently, nearly every night there are three owls that I meet along the way, I think they are screech owls and I try to talk with them---I imagine they are just mocking me. But the do an odd dance for each other up on the tops of the tree limbs. And the deer, there are so many deer and they allow me to come up close to them, that is until my bad dog frightens them. If you get to Columbus again, I'd be happy to take you on this not so long but long walk.
I live in a weird part of LA where if you walk about two miles, there's a neighborhood where people keep horses in the garage of their apartment buildings. On a very windy day by the river, two horses were released into a corral where they frolicked and jumped and ran around. With egrets and herons on one side in our little river and horses on the other, it was a bit of magic in a cityscape.
There are many herons that inhabit the bayous in our neighborhood. The great blue heron is so majestic and still - seeing one brings me such peace. The yellow-crowned night herons are so striking with their distinctive eyelines and the feather coming off the back of their heads. It's such a treat to see them in the morning or evening stillness and reminds me to breathe and be still.
It was on my birthday on the 25th of February, and I was in Asturias on the Camino del Norte-after a couple of rainy stages during which I struggled, a streak of warm, sunny days had followed, and I was alone, walking on bright green fields, flanked by the turquoise Atlantic at the edge of the cliffs. I was in a good mood, as the temperature had shot up to 26C, and merrily going along my way, when I ran across a group of goats who had circled around two of their largest members. These two had intertwined their horns, and appeared to be dance-fighting, yet neither was winning since they were of equal strength. Up till that point, I had gotten used to seeing-and smelling!-plenty of dairy cows, whose docile eyes and nature had rendered them harmless. Seeing these wild animals in their element reminded me of how powerful nature is, and how I, the human, had encroached upon their territory.
On a trail less than a mile from my home in New Jersey, there is a peaceful lake with a stone dam from 1893. On one of these trips to this dam, a baby beaver was sitting on a small branch. It was an adorable fuzzy brown lump on a log. My dad tried to come closer and it dove into the water at a speed which I didn't think existed in beavers. You couldn't even blink.
On another one of these trips, I saw many ducks and a Blue Heron gracefully swimming on the Lake. It was very active for some reason. Walking back home, I saw it again, but it was flying maybe two yards away from us. It landed about 5 yards away, on a fallen tree behind brambles, and I was able to get some (not very good) pictures. Until then, I had not realized than Blue Herons were so large, as I had only seen them from far away, and, well... blue! The distance had drained their beautiful color, and now, up close, it was restored.
The most beautiful thing I've ever seen on a walk and, indeed, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen was on Churchill Island in Victoria, Australia. I went with a friend on a research trip on a cold autumn day, one of those ones when its foggy and glarey and you can't tell where the horizon begins. A mix of pinks, blues and yellows converged as we sat on a park bench. I don't believe in heaven but if there is one, it would look like that.
Also pretty much anything I've ever seen on any walk in New York. There's always some beauty to find in amongst the trash, from community gardens to street art to random architecture.
The sunset in the desert, the light turning the mountains soft. I hope I am never used to it.
Once I was on a hike in the mountains near Rome, it was a cold winter day and there was a freezing wind blowing but it felt good to be out and about and discovering the area. We had the path all to ourselves, except for some horses. There was a group of four horses including a beautiful foal, who was very curious and brave. It came right up to sniff me as I stood as still as a statue, so as not to scare it away. It lasted only a minute or so but it was a magical moment <3
My wife, ten years ago, walking down the aisle to me, and who is right now, making us pancakes.