It's a gorgeous day out here -- almost 70 degrees in November! Since I am lucky enough to be on vacation this week, I decided that I had to get outside and enjoy it. It was also pointed out to me that there are probably hunters out at this time of year, and to be careful. Seeing as I already scared the shit out of myself last year by forgetting about the possibility of hunters, I decided to wander in a more populated area.
I chose to visit Peach Hill Park: safely within the town borders near lots of houses. Should be a totally hunter-free zone, but I wore a bright colored shirt anyway to be on the safe side.
Turns out I didn't have to be too worried. I was literally the only person there. Granted school is in session and people are at work, but I was kind of surprised that I was the only person there. This might have been one of the last nice, warm afternoons we get this year. Worked out well for me!
Here, Friends. Let me share the ambiance with you. It was just me and the woodland creatures frolicking about on a lovely afternoon.
I took a few pictures, of course. That's how I roll. For those of you who didn't bother to click the little link above, Peach Hill used to be a big apple orchard before it became a park. (No, there are no peaches there, Friends. I know the name is confusing. Apparently there used to be peaches and pears grown there as well, back in the day.)
I walked a couple of the different trails today. I started with the Orchard Trail. It's my favorite. I love walking the trail with all of the old gnarled and twisted apple trees. It always makes me feel like I've been transported into a forest from a fairy tale. Why yes, I do have a very active imagination. You might also think I'm a bit weird. Whatever floats your boat.
Totally looks like an enchanted forest.
See how cool the trees look?
You can also make them look a bit sinister if you try hard enough
I really enjoyed the fact that it was a bit cloudy out today. Clouds + sun = cool light for pictures. I'm pretty sure it was also helpful in not getting a freaking sunburn. I wish I was kidding about that. I cannot count the number of times that shit has happened on days when I didn't think it was all that sunny, or that I was outside long enough for it to be possible.
Enough rambling about my sunburn issues. Let's move along to more pictures, shall we? Excellent.
Loved the clouds! Looked almost pink like sunset in the middle of the afternoon
Different part of the trail
View of the mountains from the summit of the park
Sun and clouds
Did I mention there are also some power lines that run through part of the park?
Fluffy
Berries
So pretty!
One of the few blossoms still lingering on a tree
Crows flying over
No one is going to reach those apples
Power lines with a view..and a leaf that very helpfully fell into view
And that is how I spent my afternoon. I don't know about anyone else, but sometimes I need to just take a break and unplug. Get away from all the bullshit that is going on in the world. Take a few moments for myself to just enjoy how beautiful the world really is. Breathe the fresh air. I highly recommend it, kids.
It was absolutely gorgeous here today! Temperatures in the low 60s in February? You have to go outside and enjoy that if you have a chance. It would be damn near criminal to sit inside and miss it.
There are lots of places to go out and enjoy nature in this area. The winter kind of limits the choices a bit. It snowed a lot not too terribly long ago, and all that snow still lingers. Many of the parks and hiking areas do not plow or clear the trails of snow, so that makes finding a bit of outdoors to enjoy somewhat more interesting.
I knew I wanted to be by the water. I was craving some time to chill out, listen to the water, and have some solitude with my thoughts. There is no ocean or beach conveniently nearby, but there is the Hudson River, and that was going to be the best I could manage. Of course, that's pretty much where everyone else was going to head to enjoy such lovely weather.
Forget the waterfront in Poughkeepsie. That will be crowded. Easiest place to get to, especially for those with no car.
Walkway Over the Hudson is out, too. I know that place is going to be a mob scene: nice weather, and they actually clear the snow. Everyone and their uncle will be there. Plus, you're really over the water, not close enough to hear the waves.
I decided to head across the river, take my chances in one of the parks over there.
I was right about the Walkway -- I could see the line of parked cars on the Highland end stretched down the street.
So I headed farther North. Scenic Hudson has some great parks, and hopefully the sun would have melted the snow enough to be able to walk around a bit.
I decided to try Esopus Meadows Preserve and Lighthouse Park. I've been there before, and if the snow has melted enough I could get right near the river. There never seems to be nearly as many people enjoying the parks on that side of the river (or I am just incredibly lucky in my visit times), so finding a bit of solitude should be easier.
I made a good choice. There were a few cars there, but I only saw maybe 10 other people the entire time I was there. A few people had kayaks they were getting ready to launch, others were out walking their dogs. It wasn't hard at all to find a spot to just sit in the sun, listening to the waves lap the shoreline.
Of course, I had to take some pictures before I left. You didn't think I would miss out on that chance, did you?
In case you need directions.
Looking North up the shoreline
It's a beach, of sorts
I love the look of the tree roots
The lighthouse
View from the little wooden bridge
Closest thing to a beach I could find
Think an entire tree washed ashore
I was sitting on said tree, relaxing and just enjoying the warmth of the sun and the gentle sounds of the water, when I heard what I thought sounded like horse hooves on pavement. Seemed kind of strange, as I don't know that many people around here just ride horses down the road. I hadn't seen a horse trailer with any of the parked vehicles. To be fair, it wouldn't be the first time I had come across someone on horseback in a public park. I looked around and only saw two people sitting at a picnic table.
After getting my fill of the sun and the river, I decided to head back to my car. Up ahead I could see the two people from the picnic tables, and they had stopped on the footbridge to take pictures of something. I waited for them to finish and move along, wondering why they wanted to take a picture of a cement building so badly. I got my answer when I got closer to the bridge.
I knew I heard horses!
Honestly, it was kind of a relief to see the horses. I mean, the sound of hooves on pavement is pretty specific, and I could not figure out what else the noise could possibly have been. It gets better, though.
The horses were pulling a wagon!
Okay, I get that it might not seem terribly exciting to you, Friends. But seriously? You do not see that shit every day around here. This was both fantastic and surreal. I'm so glad I decided to venture out to this park today! If I had gone anywhere else I would have missed out on seeing this. It's kind of ridiculous how seeing something so unexpected can make me so giddy.
I hope you had a good day as well, Friends. Maybe you found something awesome that brought you a little unexpected spark of joy as well. I sure hope so.
How are you? No, seriously -- how are you doing? The last couple of days have been kind of tumultuous. I really want to know that you all are doing okay. Emotions have been running high on all sides. People are saying horrible things to each other online, like there isn't another human being you are directing the words to. I've seen mass waves of "unfriending" on Facebook. Just because I might not share the same views as you when it comes to politics doesn't mean that I don't care about you as my friend.
Seeing as I have the day off, I decided to unplug for a bit and get away from it all for a while. (Not too far though, as it looks like it might pour at any second.) To that end, I decided to go on a short hike, and found myself at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt. They have some nice nature trails there, but I can't rule out my subconscious having directed me there as I had been thinking about his Four Freedoms earlier this morning.
Sculpture made from pieces of the Berlin Wall, taken earlier this summer. It's under protective covers for the winter right now.
But this isn't meant to be a political post. This is meant to be a break from it all. Let's just move along to enjoying nature, shall we? Fantastic.
When it looks more like early Spring than late January
View of the lawn, looking toward the Hudson River
You can make anything look creepy if you try hard enough
View from the top of the waterfall
What waterfall? This one.
Same waterfall from a little bit down the trail
Still doesn't look like Winter, but now it at least seems like Autumn.
Tidal marsh & Hudson River. You can just barely see the Walkway Over the Hudson in the background.
That's how I spent my afternoon. I highly recommend taking a moment for yourself and just getting away from it all for a bit. Go outdoors. Unplug. Stop reading things that you know are just going to annoy you or piss you off. Take a step back and remember that there are beautiful things all around you. Feed your soul.
First, I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving (or an excellent Thursday if you weren't celebrating). Mine was very nice, thanks for asking. I also scored leftovers from dinner at my parents' house which is awesome because that means I don't have to cook for a few days. It's like mini-Thanksgiving all over again!
Did you go out into the swarm and battle through shopping on Black Friday, Friends? I sure as hell did not. I can think of nothing that anyone needs -- including myself -- that would make it worth it to get involved in that nightmare. In fact, I decided to do pretty much the opposite.
As I've mentioned before, I have set myself the goal of trying to visit all of Scenic Hudson's parks. I haven't gotten through very many of them yet. It's a work in progress. I didn't have to work today, and it was pretty nice out for the end of November. It was overcast outside, but it wasn't raining, so I decided it was time to go out on an adventure and explore another park. I didn't want to go too far since the weather was looking a bit iffy.
I settled on Illinois Mountain since it was just across the river. If it's not raining here, then it shouldn't be raining there. I wish I had a deeper or more profound reason for my choice, but that's it.
Backtracking a bit here....
I went out on a hike this past weekend. My mother implored me to stick to going to the Walkway Over the Hudson or the rail trail system. Why? Apparently it was the first day of deer hunting season, and people would be "trigger happy and shoot at anything that moves". This was over breakfast, when we met at a local diner. This will be relevant later, promise.
Back to today.
I'm proud to say that I found the place with no problems, and Google Maps did not screw with me today and take me to some unused, long-closed park entrance. (Google Maps and I have had some issues.)
It was so peaceful. I think I saw four other people the entire time I was there. I hadn't realized how much I really needed to just get away, get outdoors and unplug from the world for a little while. It's so relaxing and grounding to be out in the woods -- listening to the crows and geese call as they fly overhead, watching the chipmunks and squirrels scurry by, listening to the crunch of the leaves under your feet. Hiking might not be everyone's idea of relaxing, but it works for me.
I took some pictures for you, Friends! Want to see them? Fantastic. We're doing it anyway, so scroll on past the pictures if you want to read on.
Here we go
Pretty lake in the park
The vines are shaped like a heart!
Poor tree has some issues
Not sure what is going on with this tree. Looks like someone had built something on it at one point.
Someone built this on the side of the trail
Moss was about the only sign of green
Figured out where the geese were headed
So, I got through the Red trail and the White trail. I had just gotten to the head for the Blue trail when the sky started to get noticeably darker. Well.....shit. I'm all for going out and exploring in iffy weather, but I'm not totally stupid. Starting another trail going even farther away from my car when it looks like it might start pouring at any minute? Not a good plan. I turned around and headed back the way I came. At least if the heavens opened up there was that little shelter that someone had built next to the trail. Might come in handy.
As I was walking back I had the idea that it would be fun to shoot a video of hiking through the woods. It would be like you were with me, Friends! In what I considered to be a stroke of brilliance, I decided to do it using Hyperlapse, so it would be fast hiking. No point in boring you to tears with a long video, the soundtrack of which would be me crunching leaves underfoot, squashing through mud, and breathing loudly. Nobody needs to hear that. It might have come out like crap, I really didn't care. I'd look at it when I got back home. If it worked, cool. If not? So be it.
And that's when I heard it. At first I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but it was loud. After it happened a few more times I realized it was gun shots. Fuck. I totally forgot about hunting season!
This was a bit troubling, Friends. I realized I still had a good mile or so to get back to the park proper and out of the woods.
--I can't tell where these shots are coming from. I think they are from a good distance behind me somewhere, but the sound kind of echoes and bounces around, so I'm not confident about that.
--I hope this is someone who knows what they are doing and realizes that a deer wouldn't be prancing about in a public park wearing a red fleece. I know I have dark hair, but I look nothing like a fucking deer, so please don't accidentally shoot me.
--WTF is a hunter doing in a Scenic Hudson park anyway? I thought that was against the rules. I wonder if I have service to pull up the website and check.
PLEASE NOTE: seasonal hunting is permitted on Town of Lloyd property—wear bright-colored clothing during hunting seasons.
Okay, I obviously glossed over that part when reading earlier. I have no idea where the property boundaries are. Hopefully not too damn close.
I have no choice but to keep going since I need to get back to my car. This is suddenly far less peaceful and relaxing than it was on the hike in. The sky is still getting darker, and now there are gun shots in the distance. To add to the mood, the woods have gone utterly silent. No more birds calling as they fly overhead, no sign of chipmunks or squirrels running about. It's like everything went into hiding.
Friends, have I ever told you about the nickname a friend of mine has given me? I don't think I have, but it's pretty relevant here. She lovingly refers to me at times as Apocalyptic Annie. It's pretty fitting, honestly. You see, I have a tendency to look at situations that seem potentially dangerous and immediately start assessing how it could all go horribly wrong. Like my own version of The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Partially it's because I have a slightly warped sense of humor, and the scenarios get more imaginative and far-flung as I go along. The other part? If something horrible is about to happen it would be nice to have some sort of plan in place on how to handle it, no matter how half-assed it may be. It's good to be prepared, damn it! I know that it is ridiculous, and I realize that 99% of the time not a damn thing is actually going to go wrong. My brain just goes there. It's like, "If x should happen, then I will do y," and then I just carry on doing whatever it is I am doing anyway. Let's not get all deep and psychological about it, Friends.
Now that you've had a little stroll around the inner workings of my mind, let's get back to the story. So I'm in the woods, all alone, and apparently someone is hunting relatively nearby. You so know that Apocalyptic Annie mode kicked in. My brain decides on two things:
1) Go faster. Get the hell out of here and back to the car quickly, and preferably without being shot.
2) Keep shooting video.
Yeah. That was my brain's fabulous idea on how to handle the situation. Haul ass? Obvious. Shoot video?
You see, my theory was that if the worst should happen and a hunter did shoot me on accident, there would be video evidence. Like my own little screwed up version of The Blair Witch Project, except I wasn't going to shoot video of my face all up in the camera.
Oh yeah, I totally did it.
Nothing happened, which should be clear since I am sitting here in my home writing this. Maybe I shouldn't even admit to having done it, but whatever. Think of it as a new little personality quirk of mine you get to discover. At least maybe you'll find it a bit amusing.
What did we learn today, Friends?
--Don't go galavanting about in the woods during hunting season.
--Listen to your Mother when she warns you about said hunting season.
--Maybe remember to tell someone where you are going before going off into the woods during hunting season.
--My brain will come up with the most ridiculous and half-assed ideas.
