First Snow of the Season

We are getting our first snow of the season today. I went for a hike in the nearby woods as it was just getting started. Where I live, we just missed getting hammered with what could have easily been over a foot of snow. Instead it looks like it will be an inch or two, followed by rain, followed by more snow. Just to the west will be getting a LOT more.

Otherwise, time marches on around these parts. 2020 is almost over. I'm sure I can speak for many when I say "good riddance." The pandemic is reaching it's worst phase at the moment, thankfully the vaccine has also just arrived and is being distributed as I speak. I'm hoping for some "normalcy" or an approach to normalcy come spring and summer. 

I've been really really grateful for the small patch of woods nearby. The pandemic has forced my world to shrink, and those woods have been such a source of mental stress relief. I know many are not as fortunate. For me it underscores the necessity of forests for our mental health and overall well being. 

Masks have become the norm, even in the woods around here. If others are not wearing them, most bring one along it seems, and most choose to mask up when approaching another hiker. I've been able to get a 30 minute hike in almost every day during my lunch break. I tend to take side trails or bushwhack to avoid crossing with other people for now. The woods near my house have become popular in recent years, with a public trail created through them for the first time a few years ago. So I see people everyday, although I would say numbers have decreased slightly since the beginning of the pandemic and when the weather was nicer. 

Winter solstice and the shortest day of the year will be here shortly. We will see what winter has in store. Until then, I just keep taking one day at a time...

Fall

Weaverton Cliffs

Moon and Mars

 Fall 2020 is here. We've had a really nice October here in Maryland, with lots of color and mild temperatures, and a handful of nice warm days. Very little wind to speak of. Leaves are at or near peak color and starting to fall off trees as I speak. Crickets are still out at night, but their chorus is diminishing. My tomato plants are at the end of their season, but still producing flowers, and a few still producing tomatoes. The first frost has not yet arrived.

My world has shrunk significantly due to the pandemic. My car sits out front, rarely used. I'm working from home online. I'm living at home with my eldery parents, so I take very few social risks, because I don't want to get sick and bring it home. I feel pretty good all things considered. I get a good 45 minute walk in everyday during my lunch break, mostly around the neighborhood. I dip into the neighborhood woods almost daily, but I don't hike on the trails that often. Maybe I'm being overly cautious, but I don't like the fact that I can barely social distance on the trail when passing people. Most don't wear masks in the woods, although some have adopted a new trail etiquette of masking up before passing. I took one short trip out to the AT with my brother and nephew last month, and we hiked up to Weaverton Cliffs. Again, the steady flow of other hikers on the trail made me uneasy, so I probably won't do that again for a while. Honestly, the approaching winter makes me apprehensive.

So I, along with countless others I'm sure, are trying to find meaning and enjoyment in the little things this social distanced life has to offer at the moment. Even though I long for big wilderness now more than ever, its nice to know there is enjoyment to be found from the neighborhood woods, the short walk, the changing leaves, the sunny day, the mushroom patch, the autumn wildflower bloom, or the rising full moon.

Summer 2020

Summer 2020 has come and gone. Online school starts Monday. It was a strange summer. I'll remember the political events of the time rather than actually what I was doing during that time. To be honest, I wasn't doing much at all. Everyday felt like groundhog day as I slipped into a much simpler, much more localized routine. It felt appropriate for my situation, and in some ways was an excuse not to do anything. I canceled all my hiking plans. Declined trip offers from friends. Hiked into my local woods minimally. The days I went in for more than 15 minutes were usually rainy days when few hikers were around. Many days, I would dip in for a few minutes during my daily neighborhood walks, just for a mental health boost. I spent a lot of time practicing my violin and my guitar. Had more practice time than I've ever had in my life, so I tried to take advantage of it. Hopefully, I am a better musician because of it. Tended my "garden" of potted plants.

We've had a lot of rain this summer, so everything is still very green which is nice. We had a really abundant mushroom season for a week in August, where a large variety of mushrooms came out of the ground at once. Last week, I decided I needed one trip to the mountains of Western Maryland before back to school meetings began. I camped for two nights in the Green Ridge mountains alone which was really a treat. Kept my phone off and didn't read any news which was beneficial. Yesterday I visited the Potomac River for the first time in maybe 6 months. Felt great.

Onwards to the fall...

Mountain Laurel Have Come and Gone, Summer is Here

The local mountain laurel really put on a show the last couple of weeks. Compared to last year, the blooms this year were abundant. I took a couple hikes in the woods to see the blooms, and to also ease some anxiety as American society felt like it was on the brink of collapse after the murder of George Floyd. Of course, the pandemic is also still in motion, so I did not stay long as more hikers have entered the woods for solace and exercise. The blooms were fantastic overall, and I consider them the gateway to summer. Warm, beautiful weather has come. Fireflys have just begun to come out in the evenings, toads sing at night, and we've had the occasional thunderstorm roll through in the afternoons and evenings. We had our last day of Zoom school yesterday, and now summer vacation is here, although it doesn't really feel like it. I had some hiking trips in mind for the summer but they have been canceled for the most part. So much uncertainty in the air these days. Just taking it one day at a time...

Memorial Day Weekend 2020: On the Cusp of Summer

May apple

Variegated Blue Bell

Jack in the pulpit

Vernal Pool

Columbine

Mountain Laurel

Well, Memorial Day Weekend is here, and we are on the cusp of summer. Its been a strange spring, in more ways than one. The unusually warm winter was followed by an usually cool spring. Temps held steady in the 50's and 60's for weeks, pretty cloudy overall too. Our last frost warning was in May which was also unusual. I've been trying to grow tomatoes and basil in pots, and nighttime temperatures kept dipping into the 30's several times after April 15th, so I had to bring all my plants inside often. Tomorrow, I believe, summer will finally be here as we have a week straight of temperatures finally in the 80's and upper 70's.

These days, I haven't been hiking much. As I mentioned before, there are still lots of people heading into my neighborhood woods, and the hiking trail there has become very popular during this pandemic. It's an interesting scene, the times I have gone in. There's a steady stream of hikers, families, mountain bikers, trail runners. People sitting on creek beaches, people fishing, people sitting on rocks in the creek reading books, children wading in the water. I've never seen this in my lifetime.

I tend to go in when the weather is crappy, or its raining. Then the numbers are down. At one point I was hiking the deer trail, away from the main route which worked great, until I found a deer tick embedded in my leg. I didn't want to catch lyme's disease on top of everything else going on, so I stopped doing that. Mostly I walk through the neighborhood now.

Otherwise, the woods have been coming to life. The summertime toad chorus just began yesterday. The wildflowers have been great, everything is greening real good now. The mountain laurel are just starting to pop, and this week will be their primetime. It looks like it will be quite a blooming show this year too. I plan on checking it out this week sometime...

Social Distancing

April is here, my favorite month of the year. I've been waiting for it since May of last year. It's when the forest fills with wildflowers and green plants, and the leaves start appearing on the trees, and the light becomes bright with a crystal like clarity.

Last week, Maryland's governor Larry Hogan issued a mandatory stay at home order for everyone, travel allowed only for the most necessary reasons due to COVID-19. I am fortunate to live in an area that buffers against the forest ever so slightly. I stopped going down there last week as it didn't seem safe anymore, as many people are going to the forest for different reasons. Now, like many others, I take my walks around the neighborhood, where proper social distancing can occur. Yesterday, on my neighborhood walk, I decided to slip into the forest briefly to take a look around. It's really hard to appreciate something when you no longer have it. Stepping into the forest for a few minutes felt like standing on top of Mount Whitney. I bee lined down to the creek and was greeted with abundant wildflowers. I was surprised to still see large numbers of hikers passing one another on the opposite side of the creek. Some hikers were wearing masks which was the first time I've ever seen that. There was a family sitting on a sandy stream embankment. In some ways it felt like a different time from long ago. I only walked around for about 15 minutes before I slipped back into the neighborhood to finish my walk...

Spring in Maryland 2020: We Live in Interesting Times

We live in interesting times. Spring has arrived here in Maryland. It's a strange paradox compared to what's happening in our world. With all of the news about COVID-19, shutdowns, stock market crashes, quarantines, social distancing, suddenly our reality has changed drastically. My school, and schools across the state closed their doors a couple weeks ago and will continue to do so until April 24th, and probably later. An overwhelming feeling of dread that I was feeling a couple weeks ago is slowly subsiding to a new normal, where the feeling comes and goes in waves now. Many of us are self quarantining, or social distancing, staying inside our homes and trying to make the best of it.

Some of my favorite local trails that have been a refuge, suddenly feel dangerous. With all of the shutdowns, more people are flocking to trails and forests for relief, for physical and mental health reasons, and perhaps out of boredom. I definitely can't blame them. I do the same. Personally, I still need my forest time, so I try to be strategic about it now and don't go as often. There are a couple of spots where I know I will see very few people, so that's where I go now. All of that being said, it's the best time of year in my opinion. Spring is here, wildflowers and cherry trees are blooming, the forest is greening, the sunlight is increasing in length and intensity, temperatures are rising. I think the forest is still a great place to go during these times, as long as we all follow social distancing protocol. In fact, the forest feels more important than ever right now. Anyhow, here are some pictures of spring around the area the last couple of months. Stay safe out there, and stay strong...