OOPS!!! Missed my turn! !#{/?X#?!!//!!!

    I missed my turn on the way to check out a friend’s new restaurant a few days ago.

    Could’ve simply turned around and gone back, but the closest turnaround just happened to be the entrance to a preserve I’d been hoping to check out for months. Not in a hurry, I decided to take advantage of my ‘mistake’ and walk the small preserve, Audubon-Newhall, here on Hilton Head Island.
    Here’s what I discovered:
    Easy trails through a forest of long-needle pines, live oaks, saw palmettos and ferns are lined with a plethora of indigenous plants, shrubs and trees with well-placed placards identifying each: Witch Hazel, Red Buckeye, Sweetgrass, Chickasaw Plum, Coral Bean (Cherokee Bean), Inkberry, Narrow-leaf Silkgrass, Bald Cypress, Southern Red Cedar, French Mulberry, Fetterbush, Dog Fennel, Elephant’s Foot, Rusty Lyonia (a critically imperiled plant according to the sign), Wax Myrtle, Savannah Holly and on and on and on. How wonderful!!!

                                                         CYPRESS KNEES
    I was delighted!
    For more than 50 years I lived in the Appalachian Mountains and am familiar with the wide-range of plants found throughout her peaks and valleys. The mountains are part of my heart (you can take the girl out of the mountains but you can’t take the mountains out of the girl!), but when my youngest daughter asked me to come live in Hilton Head last year, I took the opportunity to be closer to her and explore a new land(sea)scape.
    But after getting settled, I was shocked to discover how little I knew about the local flora. In one way or another, plants have been a constant in my life. Being surrounded with plants I couldn’t call by name was more startling and uncomfortable for me than being around the many strangers that come by the thousands to discover the charm of Hilton Head. So I was definitely overjoyed with all the signs and explanations along the trails at the preserve…the chance to learn my surroundings…a living classroom…yippee-Yay!!

    In the middle of Audubon-Newhall Preserve (www.hiltonheadaudubon.org) is a small pond,

one of the preserves’ three distinct wetlands. The pond is absolutely exploding with life - lily pads, reeds and grasses intermingling with the trees and shrubs lining the shore…frogs, bees, dragonflies, turtles and toads filling every nook and cranny…a veritable nursery for aquatic insects, fish and reptiles.

    After walking some of the trails and around the pond for a while - taking pictures of plants and anything that moved - I finally put the camera down and sat on the wooden deck overlooking the pond, settling into the rhythm of this oasis. The richly-scented air…red cedar and pine combined with the amazing smell of Georgia Mint…cleansed me with every breath I inhaled. I was complete; thinking of nothing, longing for nothing, aware only of the air and water, the warmth of the sun on my face and feet…lost somewhere wonderful, outside my never-ending stream of thoughts and feelings.
   I was filled with awe at my newly discovered treasure and gratitude for all creation, all of life, and thankful for Caroline Newhall (and those like her) who had the foresight 45 years ago to preserve these 50 acres so I could be here this minute, in the bosom of creation.

    Just as I had thoughts of leaving, a baby gator (more of a toddler perhaps) came around the shrubs drooping in the pond, swimming right in front of me. At first, I thought he might eat the fish I’d been watching, but by their actions it was obvious that neither the turtle in front of him, nor the fish underneath and around him, felt threatened…perhaps they knew he wasn’t hungry…???

      In Native American tradition, this ancient creature represents primal energies, the forces of creation and destruction rolled into one, which can only happen with utmost balance. In the eco-system at Audubon Newhall, one can experience this alpha and omega firsthand. Even after such a brief visit, I felt calm, refreshed and (well, yes) balanced – as I do every time I allow myself to get lost in the natural world.
    This is what it’s all about (for me) – enjoying and preserving the Earth and all her vast array of life forms…balancing the human presence here with respect and consideration for all life - living in peace and harmony. I can’t imagine the loss of even one of the species of creation I saw this day…not one. 
    I made it to my friend’s restaurant, a lot more at peace and a little later than planned – which turned out to be perfect timing (imagine that!). I ate an awesome fried green tomato sandwich and reconnected with good friends. It was an excellent afternoon, made all the better because I missed my turn.
   In gratitude…Peggy