A Walk in the Park

It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon and I decide to take a hike at nearby Kensington Metropark.  I leave my car in the nearly full parking lot and walk down the old wooden stairs to the fork of Aspen and Wild Wing trails. 

I haven’t walked far when I see a mother and daughter standing silently, hands held out filled with sunflower seeds.  A downy woodpecker swoops down, followed by a chickadee, then another, seemingly oblivious to the humans who gather.  Walking slowly and silently around them I see a sand hill crane strutting in the grass and hear a little girl ask, “Where are the babies?”  “Nearby”, responds her mother.  “The mother never lets her babies get far.”  I hope that is true and predators have not harmed them.  Soon we spots them tagging along in the tall grass.  “See?” Mom says.  I breathe a sigh of relief and watch the little crane family out for a stroll.  Even the spoken words are bathed in woodland quiet. 

Farther on I encounter two male turkeys ahead of me on the path.  Camera in hand, I walk a bit faster and nearly catch up with them.  As I’m ready to shoot the picture, a third turkey, not to be left out, rustles quickly from the grass onto the path to join them.

I listen to the silent sounds of rustling leaves.  A small rustle in the grass suggests a mouse, or perhaps a chipmunk scurrying about her business. 

The sound of firearms intrudes on my quiet space.  I’m suddenly aware of gunshots coming from the nearby State Park where there is a firing range.  I heard that turkeys are In Season now.  I cringe with each shot.  Kill!  Kill!  Kill the silence!  I breathe deeply… listen as peace confronts noise.  In time, quiet overcomes noise.  Again I learn I can choose what to let into my space.  Today it is the silent sounds of the woodlands.  I return to my center.  I listen to birdsong and the rustling of chipmunks and squirrels, the soft voices of children learning of the wonders of nature from parents and grandparents.  I feel gentle breezes touch my face.  The woodland holds secrets—secrets beyond words. 

I invite you to take a walk in the woods…listen to the silence and learn.