... being in nature for an hour...

You should sit in nature for 20 minutes a day...

Unless you're busy...

Then you should sit for an hour.

~based on a Zen saying on meditation 

I’ve never been that great at simply *BE*ing… I’m a do-er. That (being) said, when I saw that a friend posted this quote on Facebook it really hit home. Sometimes I need to be out in nature even (or especially?) when it is raining. 

After a stressful week of home renovation blah-blah (yep, that’s the technical term), I wanted to go for a walk… but there was a downpour. Still… I wanted to go for a walk. 

When I went out, I discovered that part of my path was blocked. I live near Historic Route 1. Designated in 1926, Route 1 is the oldest highway stretching 2,450 miles of the East Coast from Florida to Maine. With scenic views of farmland and swamps, this historic road winds through small towns such as mine as well as larger cities such as Washington DC, Boston, and New York. There are hundreds of strange attractions. 

Apparently I live on the wrong side of the tracks AND highway! Without access to a crosswalk, I cross Route 1 much like poor little Frogger did in those old Atari games. 

I can always tell when I-95 is backed up because Route 1 is often backed up too. This weekend there was a traffic jam that was miles long. While it seems that it would be easy to cross in front of a traffic jam, it was raining pretty hard and I just didn’t feel like chancing it. I ended up walking on the *wrong* side of the highway which turns out isn’t so bad because I found a neat little nature trail that happened to be the local college’s “environmental success story.”

I’ve actually seen the sign at a distance for months and kept telling my fella that I needed to go see what that sign was all about. He always laughed and said it was probably nothing. Well, on Sunday with my favorite walking path blocked, I had nothing to lose so I ventured over and found a little piece of amazement! (and slashed open my leg in the process! Darn briar bushes!) 


An Eagle Scout project provided three bridges and the work of students helped make this creek thrive. 

The last bridge didn’t have a place to lead except into brush but it did offer a nice view of Mechumps Creek. This was a beautiful little piece of nature with several blackberry bushes that I wouldn’t have discovered without a few unfortunate events aligning.  Thank you Universe!