Nature

Secrets of the Catskills — Revealed

Barefoot Ken, , 7 Comments

There is more to life than increasing its speed

— Mahatma Gandhi

I could hardly wait for the weekend, so excited was I to get back out to the Catskills to run, hike, and explore.  When Friday evening finally rolled along, I set the alarm clock for 4:30 AM, determined to get an early start.  And I was out the door and on the road in the predawn mist.

But when I finally arrived in the Catskills a few hours later, I was dragging.  En route I had picked up a second cup of coffee, but even a double dose of caffeine hadn’t helped.

I dragged myself to the starting point of the day’s adventure, the trail to Giant’s Ledge, and looked up:  the path was a tumble of rocks.

Trail to Giant's Ledge
Trail to Giant’s Ledge

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Secrets of the Catskills — Revealed

Don’t Tell Me to Stop and Smell the (Wild) Roses

Barefoot Ken, , , , , 4 Comments

In a previous post, I lashed out at critics who cautioned me to “slow down and smell the roses.”  My retort:  “Speed up and see what you’re missing.”

But that was before the wild roses burst into bloom.  Drive into the country in early June and you’ll find the roadside bushes exploding with clusters of white flowers.  A sweet fragrance wafts along the breeze.  In upstate New York, this is the smell of early summer.

The roadside bushes are Rosa Multiflora or Ramblers Rose, and they grow wild throughout the state.  I walked up to one of these bushes and admired the flowers’ tiny white petals and yellow stamens.  Then I took a deep sniff.

Rosa Multiflora
Rosa Multiflora

Continue reading “Don’t Tell Me to Stop and Smell the (Wild) Roses” →

Don’t Tell Me to Stop and Smell the (Wild) Roses