Poetry Friday

Apparently I forgot that I had a blog. Sorry about that. My world has been a bit busy lately. Hopefully it will slow down soon. But for today, a poem. I found this on one of the other blogs I read. I have to read more of this man's work. Half-poem, half zen koan, I read this and am at peace. Now to find some woods.

The Peace of Wild Things
by Wendell Barry

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Stopping By the Woods...

...On a not so snowy evening.

I went out for a walk this afternoon. I've never had a regular exercise routine but I love to walk. It's something that I feel I could do for hours and still never get tired. I used to walk for an hour and still be just as refreshed as when I started. Most of the time I would walk fast, feeling my breath and heartbeat speed up. Nowdays I often go with a set of binoculars and a camera and most of the time I just stroll. I have a path not far from the house that is "far from the maddening crowd" and I headed that way. The moment you get away from the road the car noise drops to a minimum. It is peace incarnate.

I had a decent walk but my ankle still bothers me so I turned around after a half hour and headed for home. The route home is uphill and I was panting a little by the time I reached the top. I'm a bit out of shape lately. After I walked under the underpass, stopping to listen to the mourning doves that sound like monsters when echoed around the bridge, I headed up the last hill for home. But I didn't go in. Instead I headed straight for the creek. I sat down on the ravine edge, pulled my coat around me, and sat. It was relatively quiet. I could hear the birds and a distant squirrel chewing. Other than the occasional car (we live off a pretty busy street) all I could hear was the rushing of water and the wildlife.

It was the closest thing I've found to heaven. The air and ground were cold but after I got used to it, the temperature was just part of the moment. I sat and watched the woods get darker and darker. I could feel the moment when the temperature dropped as the sun went down. In one moment I went from snug to seeing my breath. But I still didn't go in. I just sat there, not really thinking, not really worrying, just sitting. It was meditation. It was bliss.

'Shrooms

Today was cold and a little rainy so of course I had to get out in it. Why is it that I tend to stay in and read or play on nice days but the rainy days are almost always outdoor days? My dad had texted me yesterday to see about going birdwatching/mushroom hunting. I can't pass up the chance to be out in the woods. Dad was looking for morels to take home and cook up but we had no luck in that department. I was just hoping for a nice big puffball. I love that they can grow to about basketball size. 

I'm not good about staying on the path when I'm hiking. I tend to just wander off into the woods cutting my own trail or following a deer trail. Thankfully Dad is the same way. We never even touched the nice nature trail the park offered and instead set out in our own direction. The focus was on mushroom hunting but we were interested in pretty much any and all unusual plants. I found this beautiful flower hidden under some huge umbrella like leaves. It's called a May Apple.

We hadn't found any mushrooms yet although I'm not the best at spotting them on the ground. I am excellent with shelf mushrooms though (mushrooms growing into the sides of trees). I found these different types of Turkey Tails. Here is the pure white:

The red and white.

And the grey. 

All members of the same type just with different coloration. Shelf mushrooms often form on dead logs. They are normally easy to spot because they tend to be white or light colors in contrast with the dark wood of the tree. Only hen of the wood shelf mushrooms are truly edible, and only with caution. In fact, unless you can positively identify a mushroom (100% certain) you should never ever eat a wild mushroom. There are only a couple types that aren't poisonous and even the experts are wary. 

Finally we found this interesting looking Dyer's Bracket mushroom. It was the only one of size that we found. It was about the size of my whole hand and just as thick. Cool mushroom but still not edible. 

I loved getting a chance to be out in the woods. We did find this amazing tree that looks like it had been twisted up. I took a couple pictures and both Dad and I speculated on how it had gotten that way. Still not sure. That's not bark by the way. The bark was gone. 

Dad took one mushroom home to try to identify but no real good haul. No mushrooms for me tonight.