There’s one thing that nature is really great at - it’s resetting you. Grounding, even. When Mahea and I get bored, one of our favorite things to do is go on a walk together. There’s some great local hiking trails to explore. I’m afraid these photos were taken on my Google Pixel, but next post I’m gonna have some shots from my Canon EOS 7D, courtesy of my good ol’ Dad! Regardless, there’s some breathtaking sights here. Even some without my fiance.

The Great Everglade Plains

This is a title I tongue-in-cheek made up, if there is actually an everglade plains I’ll put my foot in my mouth. I consider these area’s to be the most reminiscent of my home in Georgia, these big sweeping plains.

I suppose they’re nothing break-taking, but in such dense suburbia or city areas, it’s nice to get a wide open breath of nothing but green in sight. It’s almost the perfect spot to ride a four-wheeler or hike through. If only it were my land!

The Brush

Here’s the fun one! I love these areas. I once found a Coke can from the 70’s in a very similar brush. It gets so dense and mangled, anything can hide there and remain totally untouched. It’s just so lush and jungle like. There were plenty of tall pine trees on the other side here, so it was just extensive. It’s so nice how far from everything you can feel in the middle of everything, and the cool sights to behold. Including this critter right here!

I’ve come to find out this dude is a Broadheaded Skink, like a snake lizard thing. Widely throughout the southeastern United States. I’ve never much noticed them until now. This poor fella appears to have recently narrowly escaped a kerfuffle judging by the state and length of his tail.

Carter and the Buddhist Temple

I remember one time while attending community college - I took a course on Religion and World Studies. I wanted a baseline education on other cultures and society, because I feel like my perception being raised in the bible belt about other cultures and religions was next to non-existent. I was a little intimidated when one of the requirements were to visit a place of worship that was not my own. At that point in my life, I had fully considered myself a christian, but hadn’t yet found a church I agreed with. So after attempting to give a cop-out answer, like visiting a Catholic mass session - my teacher explained it had to be outside the realm of Christianity if I wanted the credit.

So I later found myself at a Buddhist temple, much to my surprise, there was one about 15 minutes away from me. I had a lot of new experiences that day, and learned a lot of things about Buddhism. One of the biggest things I took back with me is that when the monks came from their living quarters to the temple - the leader carried a long staff, called a Khakkhara, or Shakujō. It was studded with metal rings, so they could stomp the ground and warn small animals they are coming. I thought it so noble of a pursuit, the practice of non-violence, formally, Ahimsa. Even to flies, bugs, or what some people might consider pests. Especially whenever I see a cool critter like our friend up there. The Buddhist Monks were very kind, welcoming, and loved to explain everything to me, and all the questions I had. They even invited me for an all vegetarian Vietnamese potluck with them after their meditation service. It was a great experience honestly.

Closing Thoughts

Really though - if you get a chance, go search for some snake lizard things in nature yourself. Immerse yourself in nature! I think it’s really funny how much we don’t know about the planet we inhabit, or the areas we reside in. It’s become a recent fascination of mine, along with an interest and a respect for all kinds of life. I’ve recently been enamored by a coworkers automatic bird feeder, equipped with a camera and artificial intelligence to identify the species of bird. Who knows what’s possible!