NIGHT HIKE

We took a guided hike through a park last night…a beautiful natural preserve. and in the dark it is amazing…all the things we could observe. As the crickets serenaded us…at an alligator on the bank we got to peek while we heard mudpuppies just under the surface…dancing in the creek. Through narrow sand-covered pathways in the quiet we did tromp under tall oak covered canopies…then on to wooden boardwalks over swamps. We saw a phosphorescent scorpion…listened for owls…hoping to see one soar… and learned how gopher tortoises lay their eggs in a hole just outside their front door. Oaks, slash and long-leaf pine trees…we greeted them as we passed and learned of their unique relationships with each other…the water…and the grass. On a clear night when we looked up through the treetops we could see the twinkling of the stars…. and in a line waving down at us were Venus, Saturn, Jupiter…and Mars. On the final part of the hike…they let us walk alone in silence…. accompanied only by an evening breeze and as the crickets continued to serenade us they were joined by the whistling of the trees. On this beautiful night hike we were reminded how each part of nature is important for all of nature to survive…. and where we saw from the shadows how all of nature cooperates to keep itself alive. It was a magical night where we got to experience the balance of nature in a beautifully preserved park…. spreading out before us in all its splendor… once our eyes became accustomed to the dark.