I went to the woods to escape the floating anger. It wasn't aimed at me, but on Wednesday I kept walking into the trajectory of this shouty mass of formidable feelings so that by the end of the day I felt wounded.
My students' exams were done (and mostly graded, but don't tell my colleagues who are still slaving over student handwriting). I had no meetings scheduled, no duties to perform--just the need to spring into action if a colleague decided to dump a pile of work onto a committee I'm currently chairing. But I didn't want to sit around my office all day awaiting more angry words, so I took a hike.
First I took a drive--90 minutes to my old stomping ground, Lake Katharine State Nature Preserve near Jackson, Ohio. Arrived early to an empty parking lot and set out on the Salt Creek Trail. This may be my favorite hiking trail in the state. Maybe there are other trails out there that would knock my socks off, but of all the Ohio trails I've hiked, this one is the best.
I knew I was too late for most of the spring ephemerals. Bloodroot, dutchman's breeches, squirrel corn, and the creepy-looking blue cohosh blossoms have long gone to seed. But a few valiant trilliums and bluebells were still holding on and I saw lots of mayapples, foamflower, jack-in-the-pulpit, violets, and even three cheery clumps of showy orchis. Running buffalo clover doesn't look like anything special but it was long thought to be extinct, so it's a joy to see it thriving in the wild.
Halfway through my hike I sat on a bench along Salt Creek and just listened for a while, soaking in the stillness. A pair of Canada geese honked and dabbled in the burbling water while birds called overhead and the occasional butterfly flittered past. Is this the most peaceful place I know? For the entire two hours I spent in the woods, I didn't see another person or even touch my phone.
And then when I got back to my car and checked my phone, I saw that a big load of work had been lifted from my shoulders; my committee will not be springing into action this week. Maybe I can carry the stillness and peace of Lake Katharine with me a little longer as protection against the shouty angry voices. If not, at least I'll have something pretty to look at.
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club moss
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portal to my happy place
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| magnolia |
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| mayapple |
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| foamflower |
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| trillium |
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| jack-in-the-pulpit |
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| mayapple |
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solomon's seal
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bear corn (in abundance!)
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| bluebells |
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canopy of magnolia leaves
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reflections of leaves in the creek
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pawpaw blossom
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running buffalo clover
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showy orchis
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bellwort and spider
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2 comments:
how beautiful your bluebells are! The european and british ones are more purple and an altogether different shape. (p.s. I checked with a 7 year old in my vicinity that they knew what a locomotive was - which of course they did since they have only recently outgrown all-things-with-wheels, but they didn't have a good mental image of a steam one - I want to introduce them to black and white films (the lady vanishes anyone?)..., but it may be a hard sell after technicolour cartoons!) - Cathy.
Earlier in the spring one portion of that trail is surrounded by Virginia bluebells; this week there are just a few left. I used to be able to hike that trail every week but now I live too far away.
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