Lime and Seven Up

On a recent boat ride in Clear Lake, a man, sharing the story of witnessing a flock of ducks landing on the lake from out of a blinding sunrise, commented, "I don't understand why some people think they have to travel to distant and exotic locations to experience the wonder of God's creation."

This prayer walk took me to the Lime Creek Nature Center, a place which makes me agree: there is seldom a need to travel far from home to discover the wonders of this world.

At the Nature Center, my partner and I walked around the White-tail, Gray Fox and Brewery Loops.  

Frogs!!!!

Prairie and Forest

In some places, life was abundant: grasshoppers, frogs, cicadas and crickets.   In other places, the toll of this dry summer were apparent: brown and dying grasses, trees beginning already to turn colors, and late season spider webs.

Wild grass and flowers

Forest

 The prayers here are all about deep breathing, stopping still to notice, and letting go of the worries that bind. Like many places in Iowa, the lush plant growth can convince you that you are completely isolated, but an old brewery cellar, hidden beneath a hill of grass, and the surreal green stillness of an abandoned quarry soon remind that people are all around you, the living, the dead, and those yet to be born.

Alien "Landscape"

We emerged from the forest back into the world of working traffic, the children of summer, and the access road back to reality.  There are many more miles of trails there to discover.

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