Thursday, February 3, 2022

A Walk In The Woods, A Wander Through Time


I decided to drive down to a different entrance to the L.Kirk Edwards nature preserve trail that I have walked on before but it really wasn't much different than the paths accessed through the first entrance. One of the paths did end at a pretty creek which may or may not be part of the St. Mark's river. 


It's been a warm and gray and dreary day and I felt as if I was walking through heavy water. I use a walking app to measure my distance and I know it's accurate because it is not based on steps but on a GPS track of where you've walked. I had a hard time believing it today though, as after only half a mile I felt as if I'd walked two. I wish that the trail had paralleled the river some but it did not. That particular branch ended there and I had to retrace some steps and take another path. Mostly it is all planted pines and there are many native plants which spring forth when the burn over is complete but nothing very dramatic. 


Having said that, I do admit that I could pass the rarest plant in North Florida and probably not realize it. 
There are lots of low spots, some holding a lot of water. Here's one that is obviously underwater a great deal of the time as there are a few cypress trees growing there. 


I noticed some of the distinctive knees before I saw the tree there. There are also, as you can see, oaks of various species. 
The creek was not the only water that caused me to turn back. 


I had no desire to get squishy shoes and there was no way around without doing that so again, I turned around. 
I have a dismal and almost non-existent sense of direction and am always a little worried that I'll get lost on these paths but so far, I have not. And it is reassuring to me that the walking app's GPS tracing of my route could probably lead me back to where I started. 
I saw no other living creature today except for some birds. Mostly little bevies of quail, I guess, that scared up into the sky from where they'd been hiding in the underbrush when I passed with a great thrupp of wings. I saw one extremely tiny dead snake in the path, so small that it was about as big around as a baby's finger. 
I also came across a spot where the burn fire had re-ignited, I suppose. What else could it have been? 


There were actually flames although I don't think you can see them in that picture. It didn't worry me too much because the area that the wind was pushing it towards had almost nothing growing back yet to be used as fuel. It just struck me as odd. 

I don't know that I'll go back to those trails. I get a sense of the dismal there, and it's so very isolated. Knowing I have my phone, not only for navigating and mile measuring but also as a way to call someone if I fall and break something is a comfort but still. It's funny. I know I'm sixty-seven years old and thus more vulnerable to injury but when I'm walking I don't really think of that but the truth is that I am. 

I've thought about Roseland all day long and dipped into the Facebook posts a few times. Last night I found a post about Aunt Dot's Playhouse- the childcare place run by the lady we called Aunt Dot or Aunt Dotty. The woman who taught me to swim. The woman who made me feel loved and safe. She did so much more for me than she probably ever knew. And guess what? Others feel that way too. 
I am not surprised. 
I've had a lot of thoughts in my head today as I've gone about my slow business. Some memories, some insights inspired by a Mormon Stories episode where a woman speaks about her childhood sexual abuse, the dynamics in her house and her relationship with her mother. And of course, some of those memories lead back to Roseland too, which is where we lived when my abuser came into my life. 
So many threads, woven together, making me who I am today. And there is still so much to learn when I try to thoughtfully unravel them.

Time travel. It is real. And it can be at once so very satisfying and so very horrifying. Always edifying. 

Can you believe that tomorrow is Friday? Good Lord. Where do these days go?

Love...Ms. Moon

23 comments:

  1. I would have enjoyed your walk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet you would have! And I would enjoy a walk in your part of the world.

      Delete
  2. I am so happy you are on that Facebook group. I've gone down one of those rabbit holes myself, sometimes for days or more at a time. They always were good trips; glad to have made the trip. You will be, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, Joanne. I feel as if I've barely dipped my toe in the waters of that group. I'm doling out my time there like one fancy chocolate at a time from the box.

      Delete
  3. That walk doesn't look like a very nice one, I'm glad you didn't get lost in there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You traveled quite far on this walk, and I'm not just talking distance. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, ground was covered and I suppose that was the main goal.

      Delete
  5. Thank you for taking us with you to the L.Kirk Edwards nature preserve. It's funny how walking on one's own can call up unusual thoughts and memories. I'm glad you didn't meet a hungry alligator along the way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You know what? I swear to god I never even thought about running across a gator which is ridiculous because there have got to be a ton of them in there. And I have come across a gator once while walking. I do not know who was more shocked- him or me. But that was a little one. If crossed paths with one of the really big ones I would freak out, even though I know it wouldn't hurt me. Probably.

      Delete
  6. Happy Friday, Ms. Mary Moon! Hope you have some fun this weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ellen! I hope you have some fun too.

      Delete
  7. I'm really going to be showing my ignorance here, but do you never worry about crocs when you're out on these walks?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, it would be alligators but see above where I responded to Yorkshire Pudding's comment.

      Delete
  8. I don't reminisce much about growing up and when those unpleasant memories start to surface, because aren't they always the ones that want to bubble up, I purposely frogmarch them back to their closet and lock the door. Maybe I should write them down but I can't imagine what insight, if any, I might get from doing that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are definitely memories that I do not wish to think about but after having been through a lot of therapy and group therapy, I realize that the only path to any sort of peace is to get to some of the roots of all of it. And that has helped me tremendously to help me act, rather than to react. And that when I do react, to understand why and be kind to myself. There's more to it than that but that's the gist. Trust me- there are things I certainly do not ponder on.

      Delete
  9. It looks like a nice walking route, actually. Very scenic. I don't blame you for turning around at that big puddle. I would have too! I think the fire might have unnerved me a little bit, though.

    I'm sure Roseland will be rolling around in your brain for a while now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The fire was weird. I almost thought I should call someone. It's rained today so I'm not worried about it.
      Roseland is always rolling around in my head! But now more than ever. For sure.

      Delete
  10. There is something thrilling, I find, walking (or in my case, cycling) alone along a secret path. I don't do it often enough but I share your misgivings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, I never really worry about it but now and then if I see someone else out, cross paths with them, it certainly comes to mind how alone I am.

      Delete
  11. I sometimes get to feel uneasy on lonely trails, although statistically it's probably really unlikely that anything bad will happen. I agree that the little creek is pretty, but also that it is a somewhat melancholy looking place. Maybe that's just the grey weather. We get a lot of that in England and sometimes it gets me down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, and I have walked there on sunny days but it's not really a true forest or woods. But it is flat!

      Delete
  12. I tried to leave you a comment back when you first wrote this, but it wouldn't go through. Probably just as well, because I was going to admit to you that the loneliness of that path scared me for you, but then, I'm a city girl so what do i know about the wilderness.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.