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. :)

I elfed today. Found the forest hidden in the city. Went walking in it. Some people look like they've made it their home. Don't blame them, it makes sense. I stayed away from their domiciles, turned back whenever a trail started looking like it would take me to their tents and lean-tos. Had the weirdest feeling of being deeper in untamed nature there, where the rush of road noise never left me and where evidence of man's habitation was all around and in some cases inter-strewn, than I felt at Four Quarters last Thresholds. Perhaps it's because Four Quarters has become deeply familiar, while this place was new and wild and untamed by me. This wasn't urban exploration, I didn't go anywhere that established paths and trails did not take me, but yet at the same time it was. When I stepped off the paved path and onto the foot trails where a new forest people have made their home... it was.

Edited 9/4/07 - something was missing in that last line.