Tag Archives: meditation

A Walk In The Woods

14 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Hiking, Photography

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That was actually a pretty good movie, with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte. But for us, it wasn’t the misadventures while walking the Appalachian Trail. It was just a peaceful, late afternoon stroll along the Big Gunpowder Falls. 

I always like checking out the bridges. Quite a few bandaids on it and should be rebuilt. This is where Harford Rd. crosses the Falls.

Here we have Molly not wanting to get her feet wet. This is crossing over Jenifer’s Branch. We did that hike once before so we stuck with the Gunpowder on this trip. 

Can’t blame Molly for not wanting to get wet – the water was cold.

Ice in early November.

Even though it was cold, this little guy was reaching for the sun, trying to stay alive.

I don’t think this stuff ever dies.

Daily black and white. Some b/w make the day dreary looking. Our days hiking are always fun. We stay positive. And Kathy has shown me how to be aware of the goodness of the hike (as opposed to my just trudging through, seeing how many cool photos I can take, to post on FaceBook!!)

I now take the time to reflect on what I am seeing – to look across and up in the trees.

Sitting pretty.

Just need to focus on what is around me, on that which is in front of me, on what is important. To be in the moment. Mindful Walking.

Kathy’s gift to the tree. Art in the park.

Our map of the trip. The one thing about AllTrails is, it shows how long you are out there while recording (over 2 hours) but when you save it, it only shows how long you were actually moving. Guess I better check the settings or will probably have to upgrade.

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Turkey Point at Elk Neck

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Hiking, nature, Photography

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With Kathy at her sister’s for a week, I figured I’d see if my daughter wanted to go kayaking or hiking. She chose hiking so we went up to North East, Md. to Elk Neck State Park. Nice day for a hike. A little warm then started cooling off with the clouds moving in. I haven’t done this hike for about 5 years. Always nice to revisit places. This was a two part hike:

First we stopped at the lighthouse lot and walked the paths. Round trip here was about 2-1/2 miles.

A few of these signs scattered about.

With good reason. My daughter, Jules, has an app on her phone that measures distance. She said this cliff was 72′ up. This view is looking N.W. towards Havre De Grace. The head of the Chesapeake Bay. 

Nice path. The fields on both sides have grown over some since the last time.

Not sure what this was.

Jules staying away from the hawk viewing sign. Multiple wasp nest on this thing. We did see a couple eagles while roaming around.

Finally made it to the lighthouse. Five years ago I was able to go inside. Not today.

We followed the light house trail down to the bottom. Another area seriously grown over. Use to be able to follow this trail south to an area just under the light house and look up the cliff.

So we headed the other way. So nice and peaceful listening to the water lap against the rocks. I could sit here for hours.

A little beach up ahead.

Driftwood and seashells. 

Back up top.

No pee-call here! This spot-o-pot had a lot of stink bugs in it. Most fell off the roof, onto the toilet, when I opened the door. 

Onto the next leg of our hike – Rogues Harbor and the Beaver Pond. This was a short hike. When we got to the upper left there was a detour around a ravine. I’ve done this hike before and it takes quite a while. We could see enough from our vantage point on this side. The trail does go all the way around the pond.

First stop though was at the marina bathrooms. Looking east across the Elk River.

Buttonwood Beach RV Resort. From this view it looks like sardine villa. From Google Earth, they are well spaced and looks like a nice place to set up an RV (or trailer home)

Unknown ruins.

Swim? I don’t think I would put my kayak in here!

If I did, it would take a while to rinse it off! Beaver Pond.

Lots of trail markers and maps at each entrance.

Beaver House. 

It won’t be long before these invasive phragmites take over the whole pond. 

Little cutie. There were a group of these right here. Good eyesight for as small as they are. And they could jump about 3 feet. 

No bridges to burn on this trip…

Time To Retire Yet?

06 Monday Feb 2017

Posted by in Hiking, kayaking, Recovery

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Every time I go to the Eastern Shore with Kathy, I get this gnawing feeling in my gut, telling me it’s time to retire and move down here. It is just so peaceful.

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Daydreaming with the moon and the windmill.

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Little streams every where. Not big enough for a kayak, but a reminder that there are larger ones around…

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Even just watching the nails back out of the boards they hold up, gives a sense of peacefulness, not found where I am today.

I know that peace comes from the work we do with our spiritual selves. That Peace can come no matter where you are. But for me, I can get too distracted with the busyness of my work and everything around me in the city. It’s bad enough I have never learned through meditation how to quiet my mind and listen to that ‘Still Small Voice’ within. Rock and Roll oldies still play in my head, like them or not! That is why I started to hike years ago and in the last year or so, taken up kayaking; to help quiet my mind. No matter where I go, there I am…but when I’m down the shore, it feels good – physically, mentally and spiritually.