Those who know me well know I am fond of nature. I seek it when I can, especially in areas where people are not nearby, so I can enjoy what I see in private even though I may not in retrospect return home and grab a book about nature from the Sears "Basement Bookshelf" (our home library) to study and learn more about what I discovered. The first two sentences describe perfectly a recent New Jersey's Sandy Hook National Recreation Area. Our treks to this spot were few since December, but the difference in climates certainly revealed less people in the colder months as well as varied degree of temperatures, an elevation being in the latter numbers inviting more visitors in May. Still, it was not enough to invade the solitude in most areas of the peninsula. 'When visiting this wonderful place, I tend to favor Old Dune Trail, a walk along a sandy path through the back dune area that sits between the ocean on one side, and roadway and bay side on the other. It is designed to introduce the walker to various foliage and, if fortunate, maybe an animal. There are birds in abundance, but I have seen mice scurrying, and raccoons my appear in the later afternoon. As I walked on this beautiful but warm May late morning, not all was silence - and that was on me. I purposely carried my phone with me so I could listen to two different types of music: Chicago 16, the 1982 comeback album for the rock band Chicago, and from 1959 Johnny Mathis's Faithfully. Quite a style contrast musically, but I was feeling freedom, and I wanted to pair the sights with the sounds. Speaking of "contrast," that's what the growth at Sandy Hook is, and I embrace that. As you can see from the below photos, not everything I snapped a photo of was blooming, because I find beauty in nature's past, its decay. In the photo below, yes green grass and weeds dominate, but kind of below their rise are dead, forgotten twigs and some rusted grass blades. There are as well opportunities to view evidence of new life, and not all of it clings to the soil. A baby bird was born recently on the Hook, its blue shell shed and, quite possibly, it now flies tree to tree or bush to bush, hopping branch to branch. It was nice to think when I found the pictured cracked shell that maybe, just maybe, one of the birds that crossed my path during my stroll might have been the former "inhabitant." When we returned home that afternoon, I found happiness in the fact that, yes, this spot exists, but that also within the fence of my own backyard, every day there are opportunities for me to walk outside, peer at the few bushes and trees and see what lurks. Sparrows, of course, but also female and male cardinals, robins, blue jays, catbird, and occasional shrikes and goldfinches make an appearance.
Steve
2 Comments
Stef
6/5/2021 09:54:42 pm
Very nice blog post, Dad! :)
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Steve
6/6/2021 07:36:58 am
Thanks, pal 🙂 XO
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Steve Sears is a New Jersey based freelance writer
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