The Original Antidepressant

Guess what it is?? And...a surprise visitor!

I guess this is a continuation of my last post “The Stillness Is the Medicine: The Medicine is Nature.”

I had one of those odd days last week when I woke up feeling sad. A little depressed. No particular reason, but enough that it knocked me off my center. I hadn’t even realized that it was Halloween and Samhain.

Usually, when an uncomfortable mood like that hits me, I try to let it move through, without giving it too much power but recognizing it all the same.

Lately, though, my plan has changed and instead (you can probably guess) I head into the woods.

Nature - the original antidepressant.

Just minutes into my walk I noticed that my mood had already started to lift as I breathed in the forest air, heard the birds singing, and began saying hello to all of my friends.

The Trees.

The Rocks.

The Pond.

And the Stream.

Just to name a few.

I decided to go off the path (a little iffy for someone with a poor sense of direction - make that no sense of direction!) and so I took a moment to look at my compass for reference.

My first encounter was with an ancient-looking White Pine whom I’d met when I first moved here and named him Grandfather Pine.

He seems to be a guardian in that part of the woods.

On this day, I stopped to say hello and noticed that some other trees of different species seemed intimately connected to him.

Here he is, embracing a beautiful White Ash.

And at some point in his life, he welcomed Birch and Beech, as well.

He’s like a warm, wise jolly old Grandfather with big bushy eyebrows, and when I speak with him, he seems attentive.

Some people find forests to be dark and scary places. And, indeed, I have found myself in a few where I did not feel at ease. I’ve even felt deep grief in some forests, wondering whose it was.

But these woods, oh my.

The first time I stepped foot on the land here, it felt healthy, welcoming, and magical.

Speaking of magical, yesterday morning while off the beaten path I stumbled upon another moss-covered area that called to me.

“Barbara! Over here!” :)

Closer inspection of the mossy mounds revealed all kinds of Nature’s creations.

An even closer inspection revealed this:

And this:

Are there elementals here?? 🤭

You tell me.

I make a mental note to come back with some treats for the fairies and turn myself in the direction of the sun. Seems I’ve gone around in a circle and I’m back where I started at the Grandfather Tree.

A quick peek at my phone tells me I’ve been gone for two hours and it’s lunchtime.

Later in the afternoon, as the sun was beginning its descent and I prepared for my meditation, my thoughts returned to Gone-Away Pond. I made an executive decision to head over there, sit on the rocks, and meditate.

But, before walking out the door, my eyes fell on a houseplant that had spent the summer outdoors and I’d sadly left her out a little too long. She’s a carnivorous Pitcher plant (eats bugs, mostly flies and mosquitos, I think) that I’d bought a couple of years ago and needed repotting but is kind of fussy and I kept procrastinating.

All of a sudden I had a thought and decided to take her with me and put her into the ground next to Gone-Away stream.

I’m happy to report that after two frosts, she still looks happy as can be. I know where she is so I can visit her anytime and I’m certain she’s much happier by rushing water, out in the great outdoors.

After planting her, I headed to the Pond, took off my boots and socks, and sat on the rocks. I really thought that the trees surrounding the pond were finished showing off their colors but, holy moly, look what I saw!

I immediately went into artist reverie mode and snapped a few more pics before turning my phone off to meditate.

It was next to impossible to close my eyes to meditate. Why would I?

I have still not seen a Turtle and have learned that they bury themselves in the mud at the bottom of the Pond when the cold comes. Still, I’m hoping to spot one before Gone-Away freezes.

Side note - do you remember my Coyote pup friend from the summer? Well, a few days ago I received my box of wild Alaskan salmon. When I opened it I discovered that they’d forgotten to put in the dry ice so the fish was completely thawed and they advised me against eating it.

Well, into the compost pile it went and I was certain one of the Bears would be feasting. But, the next morning around 10 am I was headed into the woods and saw the Coyote munching on the fish. She was startled when she heard me but I said “Don’t worry about me. I’ll just go back in the house. Enjoy!” :) She stayed there eating every single delicious fillet and then spent more time hanging out in the yard, visiting her old haunt where the bird seed is.

She still looks very healthy! I’ve named her Anya which means “Grace” in Russian.

Anya

So, what is your Nature antidepressant? It might not be a forest, a pond, or a stream.

Is it the roaring ocean?

The dry desert with deep blue cloudless skies?

A tropical breeze with palm trees, colorful birds, and turquoise blue water with a white sandy beach?

A path up a mountain?

All of the above?

Or maybe all that’s available right now is the city park in your neighborhood.

I sometimes get comments from readers admitting to being a little envious of my situation here. But, for most of my life, except for vacations, I lived in or around a city. Concrete. People. Cars.

As a child in Detroit, I would sit in the lone tree in the corner of our tiny backyard. Or ride my bike to the park at the end of the street and hide myself in a cluster of shrubs. That was my everyday Nature.

One week out of the summer we would spend in northern Michigan, amid the myriad of lakes and the smell of Pine everywhere. I would cry when we headed back to the city.

Sometimes it takes more effort and for some reason, I have been rewarded with this manifestation of Nature, right in my own backyard. I was 67 when I landed here.

And, don’t be too jealous. Remember how I bitched during Bug Season??

I’ll leave you with a quote from my dear Nature-loving friend, Pam who said this when I told her about writing my post.

“How can anybody be sad in Nature?”

Much Love,
Barbara

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