nature wandering ...
One thing I've really been trying to add to my daily life in the last few months is going for *at least* one walk each day. The benefits of walking are beyond measure, as you probably well know. Just look it up online and read for two minutes and you'll be convinced to get walking as soon as possible. I find it not only beneficial to my physical health, but also to my mental health and wellbeing. Let me just say, I can feel it if I haven't walked in a day or two.
My favorite place to walk is outdoors surrounded by nature. We live in a suburban neighborhood, however, there are lots of wooded areas all around where we live. We often see creatures and critters that definitely aren't the norm for a neighborhood setting, as they come from deep in the woods for a little adventure. And, despite being in a neighborhood, we still have lots of nature all around us. Our neighborhood streets are full of trees of different kinds, all blooming with various colors and showing off different tones in the autumn. And in the summer, it's lusciousness everywhere I look with everything in different shades of deep green. Then when it snows in the wintertime, everything is covered in sparkling white and it's so shiny, you have to wear sunglasses just to be able to see clearly.
In our own garden, we have an assortment of trees and bushes that bloom and give off loads of color. Some we don't even know what they're called. But others, we're quite familiar with. And dogwoods are one of them. At our previous house, our next-door neighbor had a gorgeous dogwood right in her front yard. It was the first time had, knowingly, come across one. Every spring, I looked so forward to the creamy white flowers that would pop out of the branches. I'd make my way over to her yard with my camera for an afternoon photo session of them...she didn't mind one bit. And in the autumn, we'd admire their ruby red leaves from across the way. You can imagine our sheer delight upon discovering we had our own dogwoods in the yard of our new home the spring after we moved in. It was a grand surprise!!
The only problem is that the previous owners cut them in a funky manner so now they're super tall and only bloom at the very top. I had to jump up and grab the branches you see in these photos and have my sister hold them in place while I held my camera...it was quite amusing.
My sister learned several years ago that there both white and pink dogwoods. I've only ever seen white ones up close and personal. I think I've spotted a pink one or two whilst out running errands, but for all I know, they could have been some other similar looking tree. I'm not sure which one I'd love more...pink or white. Either way, dogwoods are one of my most very favorite.
What do you delight in encountering in nature? Have you discovered the wondrous benefits of going for a daily walk? Share your thoughts with me!
Have an absolutely lovely weekend, dear readers! ♥