As spring turns toward summer and perennials awaken from their winter nap, stretching open their petals as if yawning into the sun, there’s another exciting development on the warming air — parks across Massachusetts are beginning to reopen.
From the breathtaking vistas in the west to the subtle beauty of New England’s forests, America’s crowning jewel is its landscape. Like any treasure, it must be cared for in order to be enjoyed. Thankfully, we live in a region that values land preservation: Open space abounds and there are plenty of state parks with great trails that afford recreational opportunities.
Before the pandemic, my wife, Brianna, and I held a nightly walking routine around a nearby park. It was a chance to de-stress, visit with each other and appreciate nature before darkness set in. On these walks, I tuned into nature’s clock — subtleties that told of the changing season, like air temperature; ice melt; birdsong; flowers in bloom. During the workday, my job requires that I be connected digitally in order to be plugged into current events. Following the 24-hour news cycle can be exhausting; the natural world turns at a slower pace.
Although we’ve continued our walking routine in our neighborhood and at a nearby trail system despite the pandemic, it just isn’t the same. The park, while being a place of great natural beauty, also holds a lot of memories.
Its reopening couldn’t have come at a better time.
With everything that’s going on in the world — between the race-driven protests, harassment of journalists while they were on the time clock and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — more than ever, I crave nature.
Thus, the reopening of the park near my apartment has been a bright spot during an otherwise concerning time.
And it’s not just the nearby park I’ve begun frequenting again. There are so many great trails in Western Massachusetts, like Mount Tom on the Easthampton/Holyoke border, which I hiked the other day with a few of my brothers and Juneau, the family border collie. With the ability to hike more often, now, I’ve been keying back into nature’s clock by noticing the details — like last year’s pinecones in this year’s grass and the way spider webs hang from trees, like an acrobat’s net — reminders that nature’s clock moves at a different speed.
Whenever I step outdoors, I leave my digital reality behind and enter a much more peaceful one.
The natural world is a solace afforded to everyone regardless of race, gender, culture, religion or any other divisive identity (access to it is for another column). Trees don’t discriminate based on skin color; wildlife doesn’t care if someone isn’t wearing a face covering to prevent the spread of a deadly virus (although that should be common practice around other people).
So, whether it’s the potted plant that’s soaking up sunlight right now in your kitchen window, the trail system on the other side of town that’s begging to be walked or the recently reopened park across the street, I hope that you, like me, are finding joy in the free gift that is nature.
Andy Castillo is the features editor at the Greenfield Recorder. He can be reached at acastillo@recorder.com.