I’d always hated it when my shoes got muddy; and this particular day was no different. I would have to clean them off when I got home. The weak, soggy stream bed in which I walked reminded me of really thick shampoo with little animal tracks leading everywhere. However, I had decided the mud was worth my trouble, because I was nearing my destination.
In the distance, I could make out the large clearing that was just off the old stream’s edge. The steep inclines of the hills surrounding me were cut out by this stream, but the clearing was left flat; this always amazed me. Now, I was stepping over a fallen tree and a small puddle as I finally crossed the boundary of my clearing. This was the place where it had all started. I had always had somewhat of an appreciation for nature, but the first time I had wandered in this forest in front of my house, I felt a special attachment.
The castle of trees around me was majestic, and the cool air smelled like autumn. The sound of the leaves rustling was soothing, and the breeze on my face was fresh. I felt relaxed so quickly, that I knew this was a place to go if I needed to empty my head of any clutter. I could already feel that day’s stress blow away with the wind. I had forgotten for a lovely amount of time that I would have to clean my room, take out the trash, type a paper, and head over to work when I got home. The ground was thickly padded with various grasses and ferns, and some spots were thick with bushes and small trees. Often, a little squirrel could be spotted scurrying between coverings, searching for food. He didn’t have to clean his room, like me.
To me, many things lay unknown here and I felt I must discover them, so I began searching around. I would study an insect nearby, or look up at the sky to see how the taller trees around provided shade below in the timber. I would keep an eye out for deer, and investigate the tiny toadstools growing out of a stump. All of these special things led me to realize how important nature is to me. So many places such as this are being depleted. Some are used for building new roads, and others are used for new housing developments. I then began thinking what would happen if this area was to be recycled into something urban. The trees would be cut down, and the ground leveled. I felt sympathetic for the animals who would have no home, and the beauty that would be taken away. After about fifteen minutes after I had sat myself down to unwind, I figured I should already be getting home.
The next time, I decided I would bring Rusty, my dog. He loves getting out of the yard and going on walks with me, especially in the woods. As I emerged from the timber’s incline, I was on the flat hay field directly in front of my house. I was happy to find solid footing again, and hoped the grass would clean off most of the mud from my shoes before I got home. The current of the wind brushed past me as I walked to my house through the thick grass.
My next trip into the woods was just as interesting. I took a different way to the clearing, this time cutting across the stream, instead of walking along it. Before I got to the timber’s crest, I walked along a grassy area just beside it, with Rusty just a few yards ahead. I was following his path, winding around the trees and bushes. As I was getting closer to the small valley I almost walked between two small pine trees, but stopped myself. There, hanging between the trees, was one of the most impressively woven spider webs I had ever seen. The thin strings that attached it to the trees was almost three feet long, and the circular web was nearly as big in diameter. If it weren’t for the huge black spider set in the middle, I probably would have walked right through it. There’s no thing on Earth that scares me more than spiders do (and this one ranks in the top ten most ugly), so I’m glad I didn’t get any closer on accident.
Even though this was a pretty gross spider, I had a lot of respect for what it was doing. Spiders are helpful to us in a lot of ways. If we didn’t have them, we probably would have much too many insects around. If I would have destroyed his web because I wanted to walk there, it could have been very analogous to building a new road through an undeveloped area. I would have removed his home so I could get through and be on my way.
With that in mind, I carefully walked around teh two trees in which the spider claimed. I tried to remember the exact location to prevent another encounter on my way home. I crossed the “line” of trees into the timber just after Rusty. It was amazing how fast he could travel in this thickly grown environment. We walked through trees and bushes, and crossed an old barbed-wire fence. Rusty would often catch and follow some unfortunate animal’s scent, usually returning minutes later empty handed.
We continued our walk through the woods. I could tell we were getting close because I could hear the stream (it had just rained pretty heavily the night before, so I was sure there was a ton of water). We walked a little further, until we reached the top of a steep hill. There, at the bottom, was my clearing with a mote of fresh water in front. Rusty was very good at getting down these hills. I, however, was not. By the time I was ready to cross the stream, I saw that Rusty had decided not to wait for me, and was already sniffling around the clearing. With the help of some large rocks, I was able to cross the stream, and not a drop of water (or mud) got on my shoes. We finally had reached our destination. I found a fairly dry spot and sat myself down, looking up again at the castle of trees. Rusty saw this, and discontinued his sniffing to join me. there we sat, enjoying the peaceful timber.
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