Of course you do, after five months on lockdown. Nothing's normal anymore. Even paying your property tax at the township clerk's office has been complicated with limited access. Your vacation plans were canceled; your theater tickets have been postponed. Take me out to the ballgame is only a memory. And if you pause to have a chat with the neighbors you fear you've broken the six-foot guideline and put everyone at risk.
The solution I've found is to take a walk in the woods.I don't know if dappled sunlight through a canopy of green can cure Covid, but it sure makes me feel better.
"Forests are the lungs of our land," Franklin Roosevelt said, "purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people."
"I took a walk in the woods and came out taller the trees." added Henry David Thoreau.
Thankfully forests are something Michigan has in abundance. This photo was taken at the Calvin Ecosystem Preserve and Native Gardens in Grand Rapids, but the day before I was admiring the trees at Johnson Park in Grandville. And the day before that it was Huff Park in Grand Rapids. I can also recommend Millenium Park in Grand Rapids and Buck Creek Nature Preserve in Wyoming. You probably have several other woodlands to add to the list.
If Covid is getting you down, and watching the news gives you a headache, escape to the woods. Listen to the brook and the frogs. Spot the wild flowers and butterflies. And just appreciate the cool quiet.
Perhaps American Poet Gary Snyder said it best. "Nature is not a place to visit. It is home."
