A Walk in the Woods

A walk in the woods

I had forgotten how much I love walking in the woods. Today we explored the Esopus Bend Creek Preserve. Worried that Alan might skin a knee while running down the hill, I dressed him in long pants despite the warm weather. Luckily, the trail is marked by a thick layer of woodchips, offering some cushioning should one topple over. At the top of the hill, I discovered blackberry bushes, but they were still too green to eat. I was excited that Alan had remembered “moss” from the weekend’s outing to Minnewaska. Other new discoveries today were “mushrooms” and “feathers”, but he seemed more interested in throwing stones and digging with rocks. There is a creek running down the hill which empties into the Esopus. We stayed out of the water though, because Alan has a pretty bad cough. But we had fun crossing the creek via a wooden plank.

This setting reminded me of a tribute to the historian Alf Evers years ago that was held in the woods behind his house in Shady, NY. Various musicians played on a flat-rock stage at the bottom of a hill. It was my first time in the woods when it was raining. Yet, when Jay and Molly played Ashokan Farwell, the sun appeared. Grace, Alf’s neighbor, also invited us to the Sawkill creek, where we picnicked and created a dam out of stones and played Scrabble on the rocks. Today, I thought that the Esopus creek would make a great backdrop for such a get-together. I should give her a call.

So I guess you can say that I’m starting to feel more connected to nature again. It’s been almost five years since we moved from the Ashokan snake-house to Saugerties. I’m thinking we should head up there for our next outing. I miss the spillway, the sunsets, the mountain views, hunting for fossils along the waters edge, the aerator and of course the “frying pan.” (This will be a great place for Alan to run).