MiniGem: "Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."-Frank Lloyd Wright

Dr. Felf in his book, "The Role of Horticulture in Human Well-Being and Social Development", states that exposure to nature settings produces significant recovery from stress in physical measurements such as blood pressure and muscle tension. I can vouch for that!

One of my very favorite things to do is to go hiking with my two over-grown labador retrivers, Eli & Bogart, at a nearby park. It is a great place to get in touch with nature. There are many different hiking trails for several miles that cover about 400 acres of beautiful dense forest. In the Spring there are tons of dogwood & if the sun hits them just right, it looks like a forest of twinkling white lights. It is dense with lush green foliage during the summer months. And in the fall, you are surrounded by brilliant reds, oranges & yellows. But honestly, although I love all of the seasons there, I think my favorite is winter. All of the leaves are off the trees & you can see for miles. It is wide open. This is when I take Eli & Bogart off their leashes and say “Run, boys…Run” and they run like the wind. It feels like total freedom!

No matter how stressed I am, within five minutes of being in nature, I have not a care in the world. It quiets all the mind chatter and frees my Soul. Spending time in nature isn’t always possible. But viewing nature scenes on your television or computer is and it has also proven to have great calming effects. A moment in nature...