Trail Talk – July 2019

Trail Talk this month is an examination of restful mindfulness. We’ve hiked, biked, and run the trails in Jacksonville’s expansive park system. We’ve stopped to smell the roses, the soapbrush, the madrone, the lilies, and the mock orange. We’ve dodged the daredevil butterflies and ducked the loopy acrobatics of the juncos and robins. We’ve sidestepped the sun-basking lizards and avoided the heart-stuttering serpents.

It’s hot. It’s time to make time to simply sit in the morning cool and enjoy a spot in the wilds. Bring a book, bring a sketch pad, bring a journal. Or bring nothing but a mindful spirit. Pack a cool summer snack of fruit and an iced beverage. Plan to stay awhile.

When we wander into Nature, we are the elephant in the room, Godzilla wandering into Tokyo. The forest critters duck from view, frightened by our clumsy approach. By stopping and waiting quietly, we allow the woodlands to reset. Our presence becomes less threatening and we soon hear this in the bird songs.

As we enter the habitat of songbirds, the first calls we hear are the chirps of alarm. They warn each other of our presence and the woods go eerily silent. Then as we settle down and appear less threatening, we begin to hear the songs, those proud notes that birds use to advertise their species. And soon we hear the companion calls, the birds checking with their mates in an ‘I’m over here, and I’m doing fine’ tone of voice. This is the background ambience we strive for when we visit our woodland areas in a restful mindfulness.

Find a bench to sit on. There are many spots where one can sit quietly and be in the moment. Do you have a favorite bench in the parks? I prefer to sit where highway noise is negligible, where the forest sounds dominate the spectrum. In summer, I’m looking for cool, for shade, and maybe even the trickle of water.

In Forest Park, benches have been placed along the three forks of Jackson Creek, and we can hope the streams carry some water far into the summer months. Along Shade Creek Tr, a bench sits under a spreading Pacific yew in a setting rife with sword fern. Pacific wren lives here, and sings his heart out. Or venture up Jackson Creek Nature Tr, where a bench sits amidst the towering big-leafed maples. They promise a glorious carpet of yellow come fall, but in summertime it’s a cool retreat from the heat. Cantrall Creek Tr has a bench near a granitic bedrock where water trickles late into the hot months and checkerspot butterflies dance in the cool air.

Dozens of other benches call visitors to ‘vista’ viewpoints and to other shaded areas, maybe under a giant madrone or a spreading dogwood. At the park entrance, in the Jackson Creek Wetlands, benches sit close to year-round water. Here, in the shade, so close to town, one can lean back, relaxed, and happy for a cool place to sit on a hot summer’s day.