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I wonder if any of you have ever really missed the woods in their life. In Minnesota and even Fort Campbell I was always trekking about a hike here a hike there. Staying hidden and silent in some far off pocket of trees and waiting for the deer and other creatures to come forth. Where is the green in Iraq!!
Funny to think its the thing I miss the most besides my love. Every time we drive by the "river", I tend to stare at the green reeds and plants that grow there. That and the rare occasion we are by any trees, and even the trees here aren't quite the same, I have quite a bit of heartache. Sometimes I wonder how I don't fall into the trap that is the "eco freak."
Has anyone else here ever felt about this quite the same way? Wondering who here has spent some honest quality time in the woods. Plus I plain would like some hatrack company over here in Iraq.
Posts: 1753 | Registered: May 2001
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Whenever I went to the Mass. I missed having space in a back yard, lakes and everything. Woods..I'd love to just stay in one and draw whatever it is I see. So peaceful sometimes.
Posts: 4628 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Black Fox, my folks moved to a small town in Alaska when I was nine. I spent many an hour rambling sometimes lost through the trees. I miss it ever so much, especially now that I live in the Idaho desert and it seem nary a tree grows unless planted by human hands. I want to thank you personally, for all you do and sacrifice, being a member of the armed forces. Posts: 180 | Registered: Jul 2003
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I haven't experienced missing woods so much as mountains. We lived in Salem, Oregon for 7 years. The Northwest is by no means a flat place, but I missed the tall, craggly mountains that framed the sky where I grew up.
Posts: 3495 | Registered: Feb 2000
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Yeah, just the woods back behind my house are really nice. Especially if it ever snows in winter it's just incredibly beautiful back there. Other times I like to go and sit still for half an hour or an hour until the animals all forget I'm there. Then they come out and go about their lives and there's something completely sacred about watching the private lives of foxes and birds up close. I don't know how people in big cities can manage with no woods to be in.
Even better is the deep deep woods away from town, where you listen and hear no traffic noise at all. Nothing but animal sounds and the wind in the trees. There's something so peaceful about that. It just succors your soul. The woods is one of my favorite places to be along with the beach and the lake. Large bodies of water also seem to feed my spirit somehow. Do they yours?
If I can't get any of those fixes, though, I like to just go outside on a clear night and look up at the stars. So much beauty in the universe! So much gratuitous beauty! It fills me with awe and peace and gratitude all three.
[ August 03, 2003, 06:11 PM: Message edited by: ak ]
Posts: 2843 | Registered: A Long Time Ago!
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I miss the woods terribly. I grew up in Minnesota where trees and lakes are all around. Now I live in central Iowa surrounded by cornfields. No trees, no lakes, just corn and soybeans as far as the eye can see. Which is pretty far, since there also aren't any hills.
But, I'm sure it's not as bad as desert. Blackfox, I'm glad to know you're safe and well. I hope you'll be home among the oaks and elms soon.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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When you get back to the states, if you and your love ever take an adventure travel trip through Texas, come pass through Houston and I'll take you to "King's Wood" it's this big forrest that has trees as tall as a football field is long.
As for the woods you so cherish... You know me and my creeks. I went down there just the other day, sort of to say goodbye to the place where I spent so much time when I was younger before we move. Usually I feel so connected to everything there but it was so lonely sitting up there knowing I'd be leaving it behind in a matter of weeks. Still, it really is a beautiful place. The creek cuts right through fields that run in front of and behind you (assuming you're perched on one of my boulders at the top of the hill and just looking out at it all), and on either side there are trees into which the river creek disappears. ::sighs:: I'm going to miss my pines, oaks and poplars...
Not so much as I miss you though. Posts: 1548 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I've lived in Minnesota my entire life. It must hurt terribly to look around and see nothing but sand for miles. I can't even think of it. Good luck, and go home to your lady love soon.. (winks at the both of you)
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I was born and raised in rural Pennsylvania. I tried to move away and not living amongst the woods slowly drove me nearly insane. You see, I lived in Chicagoland for about 7 years.
I remember driving from one suburb to another with nothing but big green rectangular signs to tell you that you just crossed some city border into another. It was agony. Every once in a while I would drive out around the forest preserve and just get out of my car and walk. I couldn't take it any more!
Since then I have moved back to PA and I walk in the woods just about every day. My dog is very keen to her surroundings and we sometimes walk or bike for miles.
Last night I helped my dad and son build a magnificent camp fire in their back yard and we had a cookout with hotdogs, marshmellows and the works. My parents have just purchased this home and it sits atop the Appalacian Highlands overlooking the Allegheny River, which flows to Pittsburgh into Three Rivers and becomes the Ohio River etc... There is nothing quite like falling asleep in front of a nice warm campfire, and I very nearly did! What was also rewarding was the slight scent of campfire smoke on me the next day despite a much-needed shower. I doubt anyone would have noticed but me, as I have dulled all my other senses but smell, which seems to work all too well.
So in a nutshell, I feel your pain. The closest I have been to being without my lovely wife is when I moved back to PA. My wife stayed behind for 3 months and sold our home/packed. I had taken a new job and had to move ASAP. I remember one phone bill was $350 and another was $500.
Hope all goes well in Iraq, and if you are ever near Pittsburgh, give me a holler.
High Speed, my friend.
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I miss the rainforest in Hawaii. I'm not really an outdoorsy person, but it's just so good to know that if you want to, you can take a walk through a really beautiful, really quiet place. Alaska is nice, but...can't compare to Hawaii!
Thanks for doing what you do, man. You know we all miss ya here.
Not as much as Pixie, of course. Posts: 1595 | Registered: Feb 2003
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Funny to see all the Minnesotans posting right now, as I'm from Maple Grove Minnesota, though to be honest I was a minutes walk away from Osseo. What cities are you all from?
Posts: 1753 | Registered: May 2001
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I'm glad to know you are doing ok, you come to mind when I see news briefs and make me more aware of the entire Iraq sitiuation by feeling like I know someone over there if just a little bit.
BlackFox and Pixie
Alucard... What's funny about trees is that I grew up out in Southern California where except for back in the canyons all of the trees were planted.
I moved to Chicago and I feel like I'm always in the woods! There are so many more trees here than where I grew up. Proably not as many as rural PA (I have relatives in the Lancaster area) but still there are a heck of a lot more trees and it is a whole lot greener than Southern CA.
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