I often visit my favorite neighborhood park, Kern Park, and the photos above were taken there last week. They are quick snapshots captured on a partly cloudy day with a camera phone. Yet they still show the beauty of one of my favorite spots. Recently I've spent time in another beautiful city park, Washington Park. Visiting these lovely urban natural spaces made me think of the phrase "prettyish kind of a little wilderness." I love that phrase! If you've read Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice or watched any of the film adaptations, you may recognize it. I'm not sure if it makes the cut in all of the film adaptations, but it is definitely featured in the 1995 BBC miniseries. The imposing character Lady Catherine de Bourgh speaks the line, as follows:
Miss Bennet, there seemed to be a prettyish kind of a little wilderness on one side of your lawn. I should be glad to take a turn in it, if you will favour me with your company.Before I veer off into Austenland, let's return to the parks.
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| Washington Park on a sunny day |
When I visit these wild urban spaces, I'm in my very own "prettyish kind of a little wilderness." I feel so fortunate to have such beautiful parks in the heart of my city. And I enjoy watching them transform throughout the seasons. Right now, there's explosive color and bare branches and leaves crunching underfoot. Reflecting on the beauty of these places also reminded me of a post I read about a year ago. It perplexed me when a person wrote about how good or lucky or fortunate it is to live in the country in the autumn. The leaves change color on our trees in the city too, I thought. I guess she just meant that she was more surrounded by the colors of fall than those of us who live in more developed areas, like cities and suburbs. That's true. It can be nice to head out of the city to visit forests or state parks or scenic areas in the country.
And yet, it's so important to be grateful for and to appreciate what's most accessible to us. To cherish the place where we live. To visit the nature in our neighborhoods. To find our own favorite "prettyish kind of a little wilderness."
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Here are more photos of Washington Park, on a cloudy and peaceful day.
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I often write about my neighborhood and city. If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy:
See the trees
Nature therapy
The place where I live, redux
Orion Magazine, Place Where You Live - Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
https://orionmagazine.org/place/milwaukee-wisconsin-7739/
Hi again!
ReplyDeleteI'm having such a nice afternoon of reading back posts! I can't believe I've missed this one. The photos here speak right to my heart and soul. Strange that I love living in a city that offers very little in terms of fall foliage and yet it something my spirit longs for. It is nice to live vicariously through your pictures and do so in the middle of winter!!!!
Now I know where to come when I want a little fall color. :-)
Thanks for commenting and bringing me back to this post. We actually walked through Kern Park today. It's amazing how different everything looks two months later, although still very pretty with the strong bare branches and snow cover. I enjoy the change of seasons, but I'll be desperately wishing for your temperate climate soon enough. ;)
DeleteI have been thinking about my meditation practice and my own tendency toward meditation and yoga. I feel like I have always been a contemplative, introspective, and conscientious being.
ReplyDeleteI remember, and perhaps have shared before, that when I had a paper route I used to muse as I walked. These musing often were related to the weather and, in conjunction with that, my mood which was often influenced by the weather/nature. Bare branches and snow are two of the musings I remember most acutely.
I love it! All that walking and the repetition of putting the newspapers in the doors could make for a fairly contemplative state.
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