Skip to main content

Into the woods


Beautiful green ferns
Sunday afternoon was supposed to be a fishing trip for my husband, one of my daughters and her boyfriend. We'd planned it and were looking forward to it but things didn't go as planned. Things shifted and what would have been a relaxing day on the water, turned out to be a blessing in the woods.

Wood Violets
We drove to a nearby state park and stopped by the visitor's center to get a park map then drove straight to the day use area which butted right up to the Chattahoochee River. It was crowded but we wanted to make the best of the day and unloaded the gear and headed toward the lake. After a few minutes, on the bank of the river, we realized this wasn't going to be a good spot. It was much too noisy. We decided to head toward a beaver pond nearby but first we needed to stop for a potty break. As we were heading toward the pond, my daughter said she'd like to try geocaching. We'd picked up a map from the park service. Everyone agreed. We were in no hurry to do anything. It was a lazy, Sunday afternoon and we had plenty of time. With map in hand, we drove to the top of a trail head and began to follow the map to the first cache near that area.
A fern unfurls

Native Azalea
We were all surprised to find that none of our cell phones had service. It's hard to find a cache without GPS coordinates, so we had to use the map and do the best we could. We started off down an old forest service road and then veered off toward the woods. Up a hill and through the brush we went. None of had any water with us. We hadn't planned to be out for any length of time on this hunt so we didn't think we needed it. Only one of us had on hiking boots...my daughter's boyfriend. He's an avid hunter and keeps his boots with him most of the time. The woodland floor was deep in fallen and crushed dry leaves. All I could think as we ducked under limbs and over logs is please Lord, don't any of us step on a snake. The weather had warmed up and I knew they were out. I certainly didn't want us to have a medical emergency deep in the woods with no phone service! We continued our trek in hopes of finding the geocache but never could find it. We did run across a Georgia Orienteering club cache but that was for a training exercise they were doing and we didn't want to disturb it. As we walked on, we began to see what looked like a trail and then we began to see blue blazes on the trees. We glanced at the park map and sure enough, we were on one of their marked trails. It was good to be out of the thick undergrowth and away from the perfect camouflaged material for copperheads and rattlers.

Beautiful foliage
The trail started out nice and easy. It was open and smooth. We had no idea where would take us but we were in no hurry. The air was crisp, the sun was out and we were in the mood for adventure. One behind the other, we continued on the trail. It meandered deeper and deeper into the woods and soon, we found ourselves in what my daughter's boyfriend called "perfect hunting territory." All around us were canopies of Oak, Pine, and Maple trees. The glorious green was so beautiful against the contrast of the deep blue sky. All along the path were tiny dots of color. Wildflowers in various shades of whites, pinks, lavenders, and yellows were everywhere. I was so thankful I'd thought to grab my 35mm camera before we started out. My husband and I sauntered along the trail so I could take photos of the various plant life while the younger ones in our group forged ahead. We forded a few small creeks and traveled through mushy, marshy areas but I didn't mind one bit. I was just so happy to outside in the forest. When I'm in the woods, I don't think about anything except the blessing of God's beauty. I don't worry. I don't ruminate. I don't really think about anything other than seeing what I can see. I love to look for interesting plants or animals and when I find something unique, I photograph it. It doesn't take much to make me happy! We continued on for a few more miles and as we were walking, I listened intently. The sounds of the forest were so pleasant and peaceful. A gentle wind was blowing through the tree tops. I could hear the soft call of Chickadees and Mockingbirds. Every now and then a small rustle rumbled through the leaves and I tried to catch a glimpse of the small animal making the noise. Chipmunks and squirrels scurried up tree trunks. The woods were alive with movement but they were filled with peace. I stood at the base of a large hill and stared out at the wonderment before me. At any moment I expected a deer to bound across the path in front of me but we didn't see a single deer while hiking. I wouldn't have been surprised to have seen a black bear. We were so deep in the woods. Bear were indigenous to that area. Thankfully, we didn't see one. As I kept on walking, I started praying and thanking God for allowing me to have the strength to hike.

Blossoms were everywhere
The trail twisted and began to take a sharp curve upward. At one point, I could see a road and I knew we must be coming to the end of the blue blazed trail we were on. As the trail inclined, I began to struggle a little to breathe. While I was going through radiation for my breast cancer, part of my right lung was damaged. Anytime I exert myself physically, I can tell I'm not being able to get enough air into my lungs and I have to slow down. I've learned my physical boundaries and although I don't like them, I have to listen to my body. I stopped at the midpoint of the large hill and rested. While I was standing there, I noticed a cluster of beautiful pink native azaleas off to the left. I grabbed my camera and took the shot. Since our hike was almost over, I wanted to make sure I captured as many plants as possible. We were getting thirsty as the trail came to an end. We were also very hungry! An opening ahead of us led us to the park visitor's center. We were thankful to see it and know that restrooms were just about 50 yards away.
Lovely flowering shrub

The youngun's offered to go get the car. It was another mile up the road and they knew our strength was waning. We'd just hiked about 4 or 5 miles and we were tired. We agreed to let them keep on walking and we headed for the visitor center steps. After using the facilities, we enjoyed an ice cold soda and a comfy seat in their big porch rocking chairs. It was so pleasant sitting on that big porch and resting. When the kids got back with the car, we drove into town to find a good place to eat. We'd put in a good day of exercise and needed to refuel.

As we left the park, my heart skipped a beat. I didn't want to leave even though I was tired and hungry. I wished I could have stayed in the woods forever. The sacred quiet ministered to my soul and I was so very grateful. What a great medicine for an ailing spirit. If only they could bottle and sell that type of peace for those struggling with the daily stresses of life, but I'm thankful they don't. If they did, there would be no need to have trees and woods around and I couldn't live without them.

© bonnie annis all rights reserved.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out

Sometimes I just want to pull my hair out, especially when I read a friend's blog post and I just can't wrap my head around it. This morning, I was reading a post from a fellow breast cancer survivor. She said her cancer has returned and is growing in her spine. As soon as I read the words, I burst into tears. I just didn't understand! We'd been diagnosed with the same type of cancer in the same year. How could it be that her cancer had returned and mine had not? And what made it even more difficult to understand and accept was the fact that she'd chosen to go the traditional treatment route. I'd opted not to do that. She'd endured chemotherapy, radiation, and the anti-hormone therapy afterward. I'd refused chemo, had done 28 rounds of radiation, and had only taken the anti-hormone drugs for a couple of months. It just didn't compute and it certainly didn't seem fair. But that's what sucks about cancer. It doesn't follow the rules.

Cancer the gift that keeps on giving - the high cost of cancer

There's a basket of bills sitting in the corner of my bedroom. I try not to look at it as I enter the room but I know it's there. Its contents spill out onto the floor whenever my husband stuffs another bill into the basket. Usually, when the mail comes, he gets it first so he can filter what I see and what I don't see. Since he's the only one working, he takes care of our financial responsibilities and while I'm thankful for that, I'm not ignorant about our mounting bills. Cancer is expensive. Even if you've reached maintenance phase, it's costly. There are always tests to be run, blood to be taken, doctors to see. It never ends. Just knowing this will be a continual process for the rest of my life frustrates me and the alternative, death, will be my only way out. It would be nice to know that cancer could be a once and done kind of thing but that's only wishful thinking. Everyone knows cancer is a long and very involved illness. I had no id

Incoming!

 When I was a kid, I remember listening to my Daddy occasionally talk about being in the service. Those occasions were very rare so whenever he'd talk, I'd really listen. Once he told about being outside a bunker in Japan. He said planes were flying overhead and he heard a guy yell, "Incoming!" They knew that meant it was imperative to take cover and they did, but some of the soldiers weren't fast enough. They lost their lives in a split second.  That one word was a very serious warning and one I never forgot. I think my eyes bugged out of my head when he first said it although he didn't say it in a frightening way. I imagined the sounds of aircraft overhead as the warning went out. And imagined how I'd have felt if I'd been right there with him. I'd have been petrified, probably unable to move. No wonder so many soldiers came back from war with post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). And when they were freshly home, it didn't take much to set t