I love taking walks in the fields and through the woods, and miss those walks from years ago.  Actually, for our first date on Christmas Day 1973, Ed took me for a walk up the hill on what used to be his family’s farm, now the Hollybrook Country Club golf course.  We followed a steep path upward that once upon a time was used to access a hayfield, presumably by a team of draft horses.  From the top, standing in a grove of white pines planted in defined rows, we looked back down on the farm.  I took a few photos - without a zoom lens, they did not come out well.  But, our view out over the snow-covered valley was awesome!  And, it was the first of many long walks to come.

Years later, we took our three children, and close friends, Kathy and Hugh with their two children, for walks up the new logging trails.  We even found two trees with a straight “bar” of wood growing between them.  I have no idea what formed this oddity; but it was completely covered in bark, joining the two trees like a friendly handshake between them.

We also took our three children for walks through the fields even though, admittedly, it wasn’t a favorite hike for all of them – though they did enjoy taking turns riding on their Daddy’s shoulders!  One of the worst moments, though, was when our daughter, Emily, got the toe of her sneaker caught in a small-animal trap as we entered the main logging trail into the woods.  Let me tell you, I was furious!  Ed and his father had not been notified by anyone that traps had been set out there.  Thankfully, we were able to get the trap off Em’s sneaker.  Thankfully, it had only latched onto the front of her sneaker where a thick band of heavy rubber protected her toes.  And, thankfully, she suffered no damage other than bruising to her toes. 

Making no apologies for my anger, I took a rock and smashed the trap into several pieces, tossing them into the underbrush.  A day or so later I saw two young men walk across the back of the fields, looking for a trap that was no longer there.  Unfortunately, we never knew who they were to have asked them about their not having had permission to trap on our land, let alone not giving us knowledge where said trap lay covered up in the middle of the trail, and the fact that it could have caused much worse damage to Em’s foot.  Though I did not know it at that time, it is illegal to touch someone else’s trap; but, it is also unethical not to ask for permission to trap on property that is not yours, not to mention unethical to lack the courtesy to inform the land owner of where your traps are placed.

Another time, we saw a gorgeous buck with an awesome large rack off in the distance in what Ed and his father called the “21-acre piece.”  It was a very rocky field.  After they moved on the farm in 1968, they picked 80 loads of rocks before deciding that was beyond enough and they just dealt with the rest.  They always said they didn’t know how crops grew with all those rocks which seemed to birth new ones every spring, but that field grew the absolute best alfalfa! 

But, back to that buck.  He gazed at us as he stood proud and tall, and began pawing the ground.  Then he stomped and snorted, trotted toward us a bit, and pawed and snorted again.  Soon enough, he quickly and gracefully bounded off as he disappeared back into the woods.  What an awesome sight that had been!

I remember taking walks a few years later with our son, Dan, like when we spent time identifying as many plants in a pasture that we could for one of his Boy Scout badges on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout.  Another time we followed turkey tracks into the woods.  Taking walks in the winter months, we saw many animal trails though we didn’t always know what footprints belonged to which animal. 

Dan and I even got lucky to find deer beds in the snow!  Tucked under gnarled and weathered ancient apple trees in the meadow pasture (below the ridge that runs behind our property), they provided the deer a well-used cozy hideaway.  This old apple orchard was located below where a saw mill had been situated above the creek in the 1800s.  On the south side of the creek, and along the side of that field, was the old dam remnant which had backed up the creek to provide sufficient water flow for the mill.  The images of farm life from another century scroll through my mind, as I think about those who used to enjoy walking these fields so long ago.

Thankful for another day and God’s beauty in creation on display all around us… from the gardens we cultivate to the natural wild beauty I/we too often take for granted. This past Friday, I attended the Memorial Service for my late cousin Robert’s wife, Virginia, at His Tabernacle in Horseheads. I lived with their family for 6 months in 1974 before my marriage to Ed that October. Virginia shared her advice, wisdom, humor, and recipes for her spaghetti sauce and goulash which I made for decades and miss on my limited diet. Posted to FB yesterday, one of her sons and his wife shared photos of the beauty and sounds of nature on their walk in the peace of God’s love surrounding them.  In a previous reflection for my poem “Creation’s Glory,” I shared my enjoyment of taking walks in the fields and woods of my cousin Howard’s farm in Nichols, NY.  I love the solitude and beauty of nature, God’s creation.  May we enjoy the generous blessings God has showered on us in so many ways... as we go for a walk, taking in His love enveloping us... even as you enjoy visualizing your own walk among nature’s beauty with this poem. 

Come Take A Walk

Linda A. Roorda

Come take a walk upon a path

That stretches out beside a creek

And wanders past the arching trees

As through the fields and woods we stroll.

 

While sun above shines brightly down

Casting shadows of dappled grays,

Fluffy white clouds roam bright blue skies

Lending a glow along our way.

 

Tuffets of grass, castles for mice

Who part the strands to peak between

And gaze in wonder as giants pass

Eyes open wide, they take it all in.

 

Minnows darting between the rocks

Slightly hidden among the reeds

Peeking around to catch a glimpse

Of who’ll they be when they have grown.

 

For swimming here are bass and trout

Catfish and snakes and pollywogs

The creek is teeming with life beneath

A surface smooth and lightly rippled.

 

Moving along we gaze on sights

Only few see to take delight

For there are ducks and geese with young

Plying waters, enjoying a swim.

 

High above us and all around

Squirrels jumping, tails a’bobble

Seeking berries, seeds and leaf buds

Keeping an eye on strangers below.

 

There’s an eagle!  King of the sky!

High in a tree with eyes that pierce

Seeking a meal to take back home

He swoops down quick as talons grip tight.

 

Turkeys strutting, feathers fanned wide

Toms keeping guard, hens grazing with ease

Moving steadily across the field

A beautiful sight though rarely seen.

 

A rabbit hops along the trail

I never saw nor heard a sound

But there he goes darting among

The brambles wild, his home beneath.

 

A tiny fawn cautiously peeks

Beside his mom as she stands tall

Gazing about to check the air

Strangers like us cause her to fear.

 

With quickest turn she bounds away

As tawny fawn brings up the rear

White tails held high they dart through brush

To hidden home in forest deep.

 

The sights beheld have not begun

To share that seen in walking past

Ferns and flowers, trees in full leaf

Grass growing green, birds on the wing.

 

The beauty here in nature’s bounty

That holds the eye and touches the ear

Savor the treat, hold onto treasures

Blessings from above for us to enjoy.

Photo: Lake McDonald, Glacier National Park, by Linda A. Roorda, 2004