By Judy Berman
Our footfalls gave us away. Moments after we entered the woods, we saw a mother doe and her fawn leap off the path and bound out of sight.
It’s just the beginning of a 3-mile trail thru Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, N.Y. We meander along paths thru trees so close they crowd out sunlight. Then we traipse thru a bog area before we rest in a cove where Great Blue Heron stalk their dinner.
I drank this all in, filled up on it when we were here last – five years ago. This is the reservoir of memories I fall back on until we return.
At day’s end, we cap off our visit by relaxing on the deck of the visitors’ center. We lean back on Adirondack chairs and sip the sweet-tartness of lemonade while watching the chipmunks stuff sunflower seeds in their little cheeks.
In that idyllic setting, the chipmunks and squirrels chatter, and the birds warble their delightful tunes.
“The earth has music for those who listen,” George Santayana.
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“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” (Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken”)
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair.” (Kahil Gibran)
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” (Albert Einstein)
“Look! A trickle of water running thru some dirt! I’d say our afternoon just got booked solid.” (Bill Waterson, Calvin and Hobbes)
“None of this is ours … it’s on loan to us, and there is a challenge that goes along with the loan … and that is to make sure we are good stewards of the property.” (Doyle Carlton, Florida rancher in Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition’s documentary on PBS. See link below.)
“ … All creatures great and small … The Lord God made them all.” (Cecil Frances Alexander, “All Things Bright and Beautiful”)
chipmunk
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Video – Florida, my home since 1999, also has many wonderful places to view nature. Check out Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition’s movie trailer from a one-hour documentary. Broadcast on Public Television in Florida begins on Florida PBS stations on April 1st and the rest of the United States on June 1st. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAF0MllGNDg&sns=fb
Video – Beethoven – 6th Symphony – Pastoral. World United Music, Life in a year of photos set to music. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMJPZ-mu-Ts
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Judy Berman and earthrider, 2011-12. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to (Judy Berman) and (earthrider, earth-rider.com, or earthriderdotcom) with appropriate and specific direction to the original
content.
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Main Photo: Fawn – Taken in Muster, Indiana, by Walter Mains, May 2008 http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Fawn_3.jpg/750px-Fawn_3.jpg
All other photos were taken June 2008 at Beaver Lake Nature Center, Baldwinsville, N.Y. by Dave and Judy Berman.
