In Winter, Thoughts of....

Travel is a passion of mine. I love to discover the places that maybe others wouldn't go to or even want to explore. Like my family, I love to see the hiking places, and those of natural beauty but sometimes those places aren't very easily accessed.


When I traveled to Florida recently to visit our youngest son he shared with me some beautiful spots that were a major part of his life on Amelia Island. The vistas I came to treasure from this special place were not ones out a window in one of the many elegant condos but rather ones that walked the paths that meander through beautiful tree lined rivers and swampy areas that really glow in the early evening almost every day. The algae, the small ponds, and those moss covered trees gave an almost other worldly sight to those many spots we explored.

That walk through this part of Florida wasn't one through fancy stores with all kinds of trinkets - instead it was one of those special scenes that really creates those wonderful, perfect, Polaroid memories that make truly vacations special.


So what is your favorite spot in your community? Yup, in your own community! You know, those little out of the way places that showcases your area at its best. For my own home region there are just too many to count! Like the places I was able to ferret out in Florida all it takes is a little research and a day or two to explore.

One that was really over the top small, county park along one of the many rivers in our area that is a well hidden secret and is filled with nature walks that covers meadow and forested areas all along and through an area that can take your breath away and give a real answer to why West Michigan is so diverse in its landscapes that go from fabulous beaches, to great hiking and camping spots, to so much more scenery, scenery, scenery!

What's your special spot, that escape place where you can lose that stress from the office or classroom? Is it a beach filled with huge trees of driftwood, or a river walk where the kingfishers rule? Mine are all of the above, and more! Take a walk on that wild side in your own life and discover a new passion...the lovely places right where you live!

Peace, and Life's Choices

Quiet is
a bird in flight,
a smile,
in the blink of eyes.

Quiet can be
found -
alone,
or in many faces.
It
is centered on the
choices we make.

A Winter's Embrace

The beginning of winter. This is my favorite season, not because of the cold, nor because of the darkness, snow or the holidays that are sprinkled in those early months of winter. Instead it is the way that for that moment in time, we must slow down and be in one place when the snow and storms stop traffic and in many ways the whole of the daily parts of life.

To stand at a window and watch a storm have sway in our lives as it blows and puts down layer after layer of work stopping snow. And we stand and watch the silent attacked, for from the inside it seems that silent attacker moving like the great snowy owl in silence like a ghost over the landscape. We can plow and shovel, but if it continues there is no way to conquer Lady Winter. You see she is truly a lady having her way in our lives - holding us captive and if we allow it taking time to actually think and explore life and find the poetry of our lives in the cocooned embrace of a winter storm.