A bridge to somewhere new

I watched the quirky romantic movie, Kate & Leopold recently and was captivated by one of Kate's insights. She, a young, single, stressed working woman living in Manhattan comments, "I live on an island, connected to everything by bridges yet I never use them. I never travel."

I found myself nodding in agreement. How many of us feel the same way? We live in small worlds of our own making; driving the same route to work each day, shopping at the same grocery store, cooking the same foods, buying and planting the same flowers in our yard year after year. Enough already! We need to use those bridges to see new vistas and experience new adventures.

So, on this glorious spring morning I took one of those bridges which led me away from my ordinary routine. Otis and I drove to McClane Nature Trail. I must admit, it wasn't a long drive, just across town, but I haven't been there for years and it was something different to do!


And it was magical! The forest smells sweet and fresh in the spring, especially after our many days of rain. The birds were trilling lovely melodies and even the frogs were croaking. The trail is 1.1 miles long and wanders past beaver ponds, through coniferous forests, deciduous woods, open areas, marshes and swamps. Many boardwalks have been constructed to keep one from walking in the marsh. Ferns abound, as do many stinging nettles, skunk cabbage, buttercups, bleeding hearts, lily pads and cattails. I felt I had been whisked away into another land. It was truly delightful!






McClane nature trail is also a prime spot for school field trips and we weren't disappointed. A class was wandering around, clipboards in hand, hopefully learning something. Otis was ecstatic as he received many pets from the students.