Geocaching ++

[dunderhead]

Instead of cursing the various barbs and trips encountered on the

no-trail trails.I have now become fascinated by the botany of these

"hazards", also the grasses I trample, and bushes and trees and leaves and..and..

There's no end to it. Need another lifetime.Another for the Wildlife.

Anyone else really broadened their interests through caching?

[+Kathi & the Grouch]

I've been fascinated by nature ever since I was very young -- especially the tiny things most people tend to overlook: bugs, mosses & lichens, baby mushrooms, thiings like that.

 

What I have noticed, since I started geocaching, is I now look at the "bigger picture" of the environment, noticing things on a grander scale. For instance, I never realized there were different "moods" to different types of woods; geocaching taught me that a pine forest looks, feels, sounds, and smells completely different than one with mostly oak and birch trees. Even the dirt is different. I notice how the trees in a certain area all seem to be a similar age, or type... I count the different varieties of tiny wildflowers I see on the trails... or I see a dried mushroom growing on the side of a fallen tree and reflect on the fact that this mushroom, and the many tiny insects living on & in it, would never have a chance to live if it weren't for the dying of the tree. It makes me very philosophical.

 

Often, especially when I'm out in the woods alone on a cache hunt, I get overwhelmed at the awesome beauty and rightness of everything. It's impossible to adequately describe the feeling, it's so profound. Do you remember that scene in the original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" story, where the Grinch's heart expands with emotion? That's what it feels like. I get a rush of awe and wonder and gratitude and joy. It's such a *big* feeling... I just can't describe it. When work or daily life starts to get stressful, a quiet walk in the woods is a great balm for my spirit. Geocaching has put me back in touch with what it feels like to be one with nature.

 

I like to include little nature stories in my online cache logs, making note of the various flora and fauna I met along the way. It's my way of saying thanks to the cache owner for bringing me to the area, and at the same time, my private tribute to the beauty and bounty of our natural environment.

 

Kathi (of K&tG)

[+El Diablo]

I think appreciation of nature (Life.) comes with age. As I grew older I started having a lot more respect and awe of nature. Used to be I would squash a spider or kill any snake I came across.

 

Now days I look forward to Charlotte the Orbed Spider that builds her web ever year on top of the patio door, Larry the Eastern Fence Lizard that hangs out in a pile of rocks in the back yard, and Sam the black king snake that patrols the yard. Sam is almost 7 foot now. We haven't seen him yet this year. I hope he's ok. The Carpenter Bee that drilled a hole in my wife's shovel handle was funny. Not so funny when he drilled a hole in a hiking staff I was working on. The Ground Hog that climbs the apple tree and shakes the limbs until the apples fall off. The Humming birds that return late in April.

 

There is a lot about nature to enjoy and appreciate if you just take the time.

 

El Diablo

[dunderhead]

Must Confess my fourth reading of Bill Bryson's "Short History of Nearly Everything"..gave a huge impetus.

[+briansnat]

My wife and I always enjoyed hiking, but we pretty much hiked the same few places all the time. Thanks to geocaching we've discovered many new places to hike. Some not in any guidebook.