Celandine Poppy growing out of a rock outcropping.
I often go for walks in the woods. It is in the woods that I can clear my head, I can put things in perspective, and I can be renewed, refreshed, and recharged. It is in the woods where I can discover the Earth on which I live, my place on it, and my responsibilities while I am here.
Current political realities in my country give me angst, and I often find myself distressed, wondering what will we ever do…so out to the woods I go.
The woods, the Earth, never disappoint. While hiking in the woods the last couple weeks, I found my energy, my hope, in the persistence I found in our natural world. Missouri is known as the Cave State. We have a unique karst geology, with a lot of caves, sinkholes, deep springs…and, as my father would always say, “a lot of rocks”.
Blue Phlox growing out of a rock outcropping in the woods.
To see, over and over again, wildflowers growing out of the rocky bluffs along the trail reminded me of the power of persistence. Ferns, wildflowers, even some trees persist in our world of rocks, and they are magnificent. I feel good after visiting the woods, returning home with my new phrase…
“Yeah, it’s that persistence thing.”
…and my whole world feels better!
In response to the Weekly Photo Challenge
I Never Unpack 
That persistence thing in the natural world. I love it too. If plants and so on can soldier on through difficult times, perhaps we can too?
..because we must! 🙂
We’re on the same wave length! Great pics!
Thank you…and it is so refreshing to know none of us is alone in this sometimes troublesome world.
Great pictures and wonderful outlook on life. I too love nature,especially the birds who never cease their wonderful chorus.
I, too, love the birds. Right now I am watching a mama cardinal sit on her nest right outside our bedroom window. She was here last year too. Love!
Lovely images! Walking among the trees makes me feel great too!