*MINE*

[jarandhel]

dogemperor, primaldog, wasurejimo, rialian, helen99 and, well, anybody else that likes natury things that either lives in this area or may visit me in this area in the future: I have found a park that I WILL be dragging people to. :)

Yes, I know that in just my last post I was disparaging the parks around here. Most of them are manicured pieces of crap just big enough to hold some playground equipment. They remind me of Underhill park back in Mays Landing... pretty much just good for getting some fresh air and sunlight, period. I hated Underhill park, still do. Always went to Estell Manor Park, instead. Big park, nature center, lots of trails to hike on, etc. Loved that place. A lot of the photos of deer I posted to deviantart were taken there. That was MY park. :)

For the first time since moving to Virginia, I can honestly say, I've found a park to replace Estelle Manor. Potomac Overlook Park. :) Some of the highlights: Real nature trails. Birds of Prey (three PCs onsite). Organic Gardening (including a demonstration area). Native Plant exhibits. Native American circle garden. Solar Power exhibits. Free concerts every other saturday ($5 donation requested, picnic dinners welcome, no alcohol.) Seriously, there is a LOT to recommend about this place, and I think most of my nature-loving friends would love it. Photos will be forthcoming sometime later this evening, once I have time to delete the crappy ones, process the decent ones, and upload them somewhere.

This is my park now. :)

Edit: The park is apparently affiliated with Growing Native, a year-round volunteer project that collects hardwood seeds and plants trees to help restore and protect rivers and streams in the Potomac River watershed. They are also affiliated with Building Logics, a company apparently pioneering "green roofs". Looks like good stuff. The demonstration garden they have there is apparently run by the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia, and includes a compost area.

Edit again: Photos have been uploaded here. Trying it out as an alternative to possibly paying for flickr. Seem to be some flaws, though, I initially made a mistake with my uploading program and uploaded reduced size copies of the images. It's not letting me delete them at the moment... keeps giving me an error message. I'm hoping that will resolve itself. Put the corrected photos in a new album to keep them separate from the errorific ones. Enjoy. :)

Comments

[dogemperor.livejournal.com]

Niiiice :3 And yeah, we will have to visit it next time we come up :3

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

Yup, I think you'd love it. :)

[rhiannasilel.livejournal.com]

...and we actually have to meet in person next time you come up this way.:)

[helen99.livejournal.com]

Pretty trees... Let us know when you want to go park-walking and we can come out (probably after CTT and Salon Con).

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

Definitely after CtT... at the moment, my apartment is still not really ready for visitors. Working on fixing that. Once that's all set, I'd be happy to go park-walking with you guys. I think you'd both really like this park. I was really really surprised by its quality. Haven't finished exploring it yet, but I did find one rather nice path off the main trail. Doubt I was supposed to go back there, but it wasn't the one with the notice about prosecuting whoever broke the fence, so I felt save enough going down it, and the pictures I took back there turned out really nicely. :)

[scraun23.livejournal.com]

I'm still of the opinion that any wilderness with trails made by humans isn't wild enough, but that doesn't really mean there aren't still fun places to wander... count me in if there's a gathering for park going. (I'm unfortunately offline at my job now though...)

[jarandhel.livejournal.com]

That's why you go off the trails that have been planned, and find the little breaks in the undergrowth that indicate trails made by animals or other exploring two-leggers. :) I found a very nice mostly-dry streambed at this park by doing that already.

[rhiannasilel.livejournal.com]

I'd really like to see it even if I don't always do the natury thing.:)