Clarence Fahnestock State Park in Putnam County, New York

Take the Taconic north.  You'll see a sign for Clarence Fahnestock State Park.  Get off at the next exit.  Drive West until you see cars parked on both sides of the road.  Park your car on the side of the road behind the other cars.  Cross the road and see a trail head on the south side of the road.  Follow the red trail markers on the trees.  This will take you deep into the forest.  Now, with the leaves off the trees and the floor covered with pale tan oak, beech, maple leaves, you get the feeling of walking on a carpet of gold.

You won't see other people.  It'll be you and the forest and the trees and the gentle hills and the sunlight coming through.  You'll come to a wide carriage trail, also blanketed with the leaves of the forest.  Take a right and follow the carriage trail until you see yellow markers on the trees.  Follow the yellow trail until it takes you high above a blue lake.  Sit on a rock, look at the sun reflecting off the water and there's no other place you would rather be. 

The beauty of the Forest reaches deep into one's soul.

Briarcliff Peekskill Trailway in Westchester

This used to be a railway line.  Now, it's paved and on both sides of the walkway, covered with trees.  Get off at the Underhill exit on the Taconic State parkway.  Drive south to Route 120.  Drive East along route 120, and you'll see a German restaurant on your right and then a little further east, a parking area for the trailway on your left.

Start walking south on the trailway and you'll cross on a beautiful, old bridge that spans the Croton Reservoir.  Wonderful water views.  Keep on going south and you'll see a lake on your left with swans.  Keep on walking south and you're in a forest walking on a paved path.  The trees surround you, embrace you.  You and the forest are friends.  You can walk for over 20 miles round trip on this trailway.  Turn back when you think you'll get tired.

Riverside Park

Enter at 116th street and Riverside Avenue in Manhattan.  I walked there this past week.  Yellow leaves on the tree.  A view of the Hudson.  Soccer fields, children's playgrounds, baseball fields beneath you.  Joggers, mothers with strollers, students.  All very well spaced.  You have tranquility and a sense of belonging.  Water, trees, people playing and contemplating.  This is what an urban park should be like.

Battery Park City

One of my favorite walks in New York City starts at Battery Park.  Wonderful views of Governor's Island, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  The harbor and water are stunning.  Keep on walking west and a paved walkway with gardens appears as you walk along the residential buildings of Battery Park City.  I like buildings made of red, tan, and white stone and granite.  They seem more monumental, more artistic, more like a sculpture.  One of my favorite sculptures there is a life size lawn sculpture of a female cat upright, wearing a dress,  hand in hand with a male cat, just like characters from a fairy tale.

I had lunch at Kaidou, a japanese restaurant, overlooking the Marina with Bento Boxes that are just 13.00.  The service and surroundings were excellent.  After that, I kept walking north until it was time to catch the train home.  How lucky we are that we were made with legs so that we could feel the pleasure from walking! A wonderful day.

Muscoot Farm Park

This is another one of my favorite walks in Westchester.  The Yellow Trail.  It's about 3 miles.  It takes about 90 minutes to 2 hours depending on how many times you stop to rest to just look at the trees.  In the Autumn, the ground is covered with golden, yellow leaves.  Around you, are trees that are red, yellow, orange.  Such a bright yellow, orange and red also.  With the sun and the scrunching of the leaves on the ground, this spot is wonderful.  You finish by coming to picture perfect meadow and a blue sky that just stretches.  The forest surrounds you and enfolds you, bringing you back to life.

Autumn in Westchester

J,
Yesterday was a wonderful Autumn Day.  The leaves were a brilliant gold, yellow, orange and fiery crimson in Westchester.  I thought about our phone conversation and wanted to thank you for telling me about different health conditions people feel that are biological in nature and not always spawned by societal stresses.  That was pretty amazing to me.

What is also amazing are the forests in Westchester.  One could walk for hours beneath these gold and crimson trees, on a floor bed of crisp, crunchy, clean, sun faded pale, tan leaves and not see another house or human being.  Totally zen like, beautiful, peaceful and renewing.  Wonderful, you know what I mean?

Beginnings

This is a blog to celebrate our friendships.  Write posts on this blog as if you were writing to a very dear friend.  The content of the posts should be to share your appreciation of having the friendship because a telephone call,  a cup of tea together, a walk shared provided you with happiness.

A lot of times, those moments come and they pass and only later, one realizes the wondeful feeling those moments left in you, like footprints in the sand.  This is a blog to capture those moments as if they were literary photographs. 

This is a blog so you could look back at those "literary photographs" and share them with others.  Post a note of thoughts to a person who shared a kindness with you and pass this URL to them.  Wouldn't it be great if this blog was a series of notes to friends who in some way knew at least one other person who wrote on this blog?   In that way we could see how we're all soul refreshers of each other.  One kindness spawns another.