Egg Harbor Township Nature Reserve

Well, what a weekend, eh? .... Did you get blown away? Oh by the way, welcome to 'fall'. 

So...today is Monday and since this weekend was blustery and wild ....today I grasped at the opportunity to just stroll around Egg Harbor Township's Nature Reserve. This reserve is located on Zion Road and has about 6 miles of walking trails and a total of 220 acres. The old environmental learning center is located on this site and although somewhat old, neglected and certainly tired...it still can provide moments of solace as you just sit under the canopy and let your mind find your youth. 

After a windy weekend it was nice to just wander. Oh I saw the usual suspects of birds, lots of jays, Audubon Warblers (as I still call them but I believe they are officially classified as Yellow-rumped now-a-days). But the highlight of the walk was really just the walk itself. 

I love just walking in soft moss or wet leaves where you move so quietly and the ground just kind of 'gives a bit' as you wander. I like to take my hands and as I walk, just have them glide along the tops of tall grasses and feel them bend and then pop back up. It is easy to find yourself immersed in this environment which for today was void of all people, dogs, and for the most part, noise. That is difficult to find and especially around here if one ventured on weekends, so this Monday provided me with that glimmer of silence and softness, something we all need within us. 

Take a few minutes out of a day and find your 'silence' ...your nature. 

Tomorrow...I will be 'leaving on a jet plane' ..... Although Peter, Paul and Mary made that famous, it was actually John Denver who wrote it. Now, John Denver would have loved my walk today..... I know he would have. 

But my jet plane will be taking me to Australia for the next three weeks as my oldest girl gets married, but I will try to blog from there. I travel a lot and like to label myself as 'speculative'. I am always 'leaving' and am always chasing something, be it a bird, a new land and culture or just the experience. It is admitting to myself that there is no greater chase in life than that of experiencing life. There are never any problems or negatives in my travels for every new experience is just that--an experience. I am speculative, for if I am not chasing after a new experience, what am I doing?