desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
Posts: 6,291
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Post by desert dweller on Jun 24, 2017 21:26:51 GMT -8
Feel free to get as deep as you want.
Here's a ditty I first posted in 2003.
Why I Love Nature
I love Nature because of Her extremes. It could be that hard-to-reach snow capped peak with its breathtaking view or a comfortable decent into deep, lush desert canyons. The fact that I walked there, braving the elements, gives me a sense of personal accomplishment. Not being intrusive allows me to briefly belong. And for a short period of time I can directly experience the source of all creation here on Earth. In Nature are our beginnings.
"How strange and wonderful is our home, our earth, with its swirling vaporous atmosphere, its flowing and frozen liquids, its trembling plants, its creeping, crawling, climbing creatures, the croaking things with wings that hang on rocks and soar through fog, the furry grass, the scaly seas. To see our world as a space traveler might see it, for the first time, through Venusian eyes or Martian antennae, how utterly rich and wild it would seem, how far beyond the power of the craziest, spaced-out, acid-headed imagination, even a god's, even God's, to conjure up from nothing." — Edward Abbey
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Post by graywolf on Jun 25, 2017 6:04:19 GMT -8
"I am free of the busy world There is not a doubt in my heart Or a worry to disturb my mind." ~ Han Shan
"This world of dew Is just a world of dew And yet....." ~ Kobayashi Issa
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Post by autumnmist on Jun 25, 2017 7:14:11 GMT -8
I love nature because of the peace, the calm, beauty, serenity and total escape from the rampages of civilization, of encroaching concrete and buildings, of tightly packed neighborhoods punctuated with ugly strip malls, of massive high rise buildings protruding into a lovely skyline, and of the aggression and irresponsibility of drivers. I love to marvel at the incredibly complex creations, none made by human hand, but through the evolution of natural processes which can be devastating as well as creative. When I discovered fractals, my fascination became even more intense. These natural and beautiful art forms are complex yet simple in their formations. I recall an observation made by my geology professor when on a field trip to various sites in Oakland County. One was a deeply ravined area, trees growing down the slopes, massive rocks adorning the pathway. He pointed out that this was an active area during the last Ice Age, then exclaimed: "imagine the chaos when this area was carved out!" Chaos is I think generally thought of in human terms; he applied it to nature. I thought that was such an insightful observation. One of my passions is adapting natural volunteers from the garden into decorative art. Grapevines provide excellent bases for wreaths. Clippings from junipers and arborvitae make lovely wreaths, and once even provided a nest for a mother robin. I even see beauty and symmetry in volunteers (also known by less nature oriented people as "weeds".) Pine cones can be used in wreaths, highlighted by seasonally colored ribbons, dyed with plants if I'm energetic. I don't need a wind device to tell me how hard the wind is blowing; I merely look at the widow-makers in the yard and estimate the angle of deflection. Adapting experiences with nature for mass consumption leads me to the Chicken Soup books, for gardeners and for ocean lovers. I've read the latter book several times and find myself relaxed and my spirit restored even if I'm not outside. It's as if the books are connecting nature lovers through a distinctly man-made invention: the printing press. desert dweller , this thread is so timely. With a mind in chaos, it's helped me find my center and restore my mental balance. You can't know how much this has helped make today a better day!
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Jun 25, 2017 15:36:01 GMT -8
Oh no you dint graywolf ! This could degenerate into a haiku throwdown!
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Jun 25, 2017 15:39:25 GMT -8
Driving across plains I'm living my other life the mountains call me
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davesenesac
Trail Wise!
Our precious life is short within eternity, don't waste it!
Posts: 1,710
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Post by davesenesac on Jun 25, 2017 16:25:04 GMT -8
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Post by graywolf on Jun 26, 2017 4:28:31 GMT -8
Mountains and Rivers Wandering Away or To Home on Back I Go
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Hungry Jack
Trail Wise!
Living and dying in 3/4 time...
Posts: 3,809
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Post by Hungry Jack on Jun 26, 2017 8:20:51 GMT -8
Surviving I-70 The I-70 gauntlet of Waffle Houses, boarded-up Nickerson Farms and Stuckeys, and endless barbed wire fence is like some sort of existentialist crucification. Heading west from The Lou, the wooded hills of mid-Missouri, which reminded early French trappers of their beloved Provence quickly give way to desolate prairie outside KC. Your last bit of geographic relief is in eastern Kansas, when you pass the northern fringe of the Flint Hills. Then one must hunker down for 8 hours of unforgiving blandness that hammers away at your soul.
Just when your mind is on the verge of collapse from hours of unchanging terrestrial geometry, the Rocky Mountains emerge into blurred view just beyond the border into Colorado. At Limon, you crest an imperceptible rise where the land falls away to the south and west, and the Moutains leap into the sky to break the spell that Kansas has cast upon you. Your neurons start fire again with the visual stimulation that comes from having something worth observing.
This is how one survives I-70.
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toejam
Trail Wise!
Hiking to raise awareness
Posts: 1,795
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Post by toejam on Jun 26, 2017 10:34:42 GMT -8
Responsible one existential crisis now can the soul be free?
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jun 26, 2017 12:23:41 GMT -8
All alone I am nothing my problems disappear
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Post by atvtuner on Jun 26, 2017 13:44:28 GMT -8
Never play cards with a man called doc.
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ErnieW
Trail Wise!
I want to backpack
Posts: 9,935
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Post by ErnieW on Jun 26, 2017 18:08:18 GMT -8
Does Philosophical have hairy legs?
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desert dweller
Trail Wise!
Power to the Peaceful...Hate does not create.
Posts: 6,291
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Post by desert dweller on Jun 26, 2017 18:48:47 GMT -8
Does Philosophical have hairy legs? Most I've seen have a hairy upper lip.
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Post by cityman on Jun 27, 2017 10:47:23 GMT -8
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." - Martin Buber
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
“It is better to travel well than to arrive." - Buddha
“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur Ward
On the first – I have always felt that when we travel, the trail is the destination.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jun 27, 2017 10:54:16 GMT -8
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