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<\/a>Great exercise<\/h2>\n
There\u2019s a small gym where I work. Ever since I moved here in late 2001, I\u2019ve gone in early (most mornings, anyway), done some sort of workout, then cleaned up and dressed for work on-site. My employer closed the gym when other gyms closed and it hasn\u2019t reopened. My exercise routine was disrupted.<\/p>\n
Walking in the parks has become my primary exercise, at least on weekends. It\u2019s more interesting than just walking around the block. I never get bored in the parks. Either I run out of time, or occasionally I run out of energy.<\/p>\n
The parks don\u2019t make up for the loss of the gym, but they provide something instead of nothing.<\/p>\n I\u2019m an introvert. I like being alone and I don\u2019t like being bothered by other people.<\/p>\n Up to a point.<\/p>\n For the first part of the quarantine, I saw my wife, two people in the office (some days, anyway), and that was about it. And that was too much solitude even for me.<\/p>\n I never run into anyone I know in the parks, and I almost never talk to strangers. But at least I could see and hear other people, and mumble a \u201cmorning\u201d from six feet away.<\/p>\n It made a difference.<\/p>\n And on one occasion, some people I didn\u2019t know filled me with hope<\/a>.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t love Nature because I\u2019m a Pagan, I\u2019m a Pagan because I love Nature. I grew up with the woods just outside my back door, and I can\u2019t go too long without getting outside. I spend regular time outdoors in my back yard. And that\u2019s nice enough, but it\u2019s not very big, and it gets old after a while.<\/p>\n Most of the local parks are \u201cgreenbelts\u201d \u2013 narrowish strips of land, mostly in flood zones where environmental regulations (and good sense) mean you can\u2019t build houses or stores. So they\u2019re set aside for community use. Some include sports fields or other special-purpose facilities. Some include dog parks or places to ride bicycles or horses.<\/p>\n Most have lakes (too small for swimming or boating) and streams. Some have paths through the woods. All have wildlife.<\/p>\n I know some Pagans like to say \u201cit\u2019s all Nature\u201d and they\u2019re right. Cities are just human habitats. But there\u2019s something special about being in green places, even if they\u2019re more curated than wild.<\/p>\n Spending time in Nature has been critically important for me in the past year.<\/p>\n I took up photography for two reasons: to document rituals<\/a> and to provide blog illustrations. Many of my blog pictures come from my trips\u2026 and there weren\u2019t many trips last year.<\/p>\n So I took a camera with me on my park walks. There\u2019s usually wildlife to photograph, plus trees, paths, streams, gates\u2026 all the kinds of things that may make a good blog illustration someday. Even when I said \u201cI\u2019m just going to go walk\u201d I would end up taking 20 or 30 pictures with my phone.<\/p>\n Has my photography improved over the past year? I like to think it has. Certainly I\u2019ve learned more about how to frame a picture, both for the main subject and for a good background. Yes, there\u2019s always Photoshop, but it\u2019s much easier to get a clean picture in the first place. I\u2019ve learned a lot about light, and how to get a decent picture when the sun is in the \u201cwrong\u201d place.<\/p>\n On one hand, shooting the same subjects over and over again gets boring. But on the other hand, it gives me plenty of opportunity to tweak the composition\u2026 and to see how the land changes with the seasons.<\/p>\n Occasionally people say \u201cI want to learn photography \u2013 what camera should I get?\u201d My answer is always \u201cthe one that\u2019s in your pocket right now.\u201d Modern smartphones take very good pictures. Start there, and when you consistently run into a situation where your phone won\u2019t give you the kind of pictures you want, then start looking for a dedicated camera.<\/p>\n Some of these pictures were taken with my iPhone XR \u2013 you can\u2019t tell which ones. The iPhone 12 (with two lenses) and 12 Pro (with three lenses) are even better. So are some of the Android phones.<\/p>\n But I want the capabilities of a camera on these walks. I still have my full frame Canon DSLR, but it\u2019s too big, too heavy, and too easily damaged to take on long walks. A couple years ago I moved to Olympus for travel, and for things like this.<\/p>\n I\u2019m now shooting with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III, with the 14-150 mm zoom lens. It weighs about half what my Canon 6D does, it\u2019s weather sealed, and it takes very good pictures. I added the 12-40 mm f\/2.8 lens last fall for low light and video work. I\u2019d like to get Olympus\u2019 new 100-400mm zoom for wildlife, but it\u2019s beyond my budget at the moment.<\/p>\n These are great parks and I\u2019m glad I have access to them. But none of them are worth driving here from out of town. I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d drive here from Dallas (you\u2019ve got White Rock Lake). But if you\u2019re in the area and you\u2019re wondering where these all pictures were taken, here you go:<\/p>\n In McKinney<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Towne Lake Recreation Area<\/a>. This is my \u201chome park.\u201d Just a few miles from my house \u2013 has the best wildlife (especially waterfowl) in the area. Nice trails through the woods. There\u2019s a labyrinth in the middle of the woods, but it needs to be cleaned and painted so you can walk it more easily.<\/p>\n Bonnie Wenk Park<\/a>. Dog park, sports fields, open fields, playground. Towne Lake and Bonnie Wenk are connected by paths \u2013 you can walk for several miles and never leave the trails.<\/p>\n Erwin Park<\/a>. Camping sites and an off-road bicycle park. You can walk the trails, but don\u2019t try to do it on weekends \u2013 you\u2019ll get run over by mountain bikes.<\/p>\n In Plano<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Oak Point Nature Preserve<\/a>. The largest park in the area \u2013 the lake is big enough for kayaking and canoeing. There\u2019s an equestrian area, and some of the local hot air balloonists use a nearby field as their launch site. One morning, one of them used the lake for an emergency landing.<\/p>\n Arbor Hills Nature Preserve<\/a>. This is my favorite of all the parks, because it has the best trails. Unfortunately, it\u2019s the farthest away, and it tends to be crowded, so I don\u2019t get there often. Unlike much of North Texas, it has real hills.<\/p>\n In Denton<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Lake Forest Park<\/a>. A dog park with some trails and a lake.<\/p>\n Old Alton Bridge Park<\/a>. Goatman\u2019s Bridge<\/a>, where we shot some of the Denton CUUPS Imbolc Ritual<\/a>. Also some nice trails.<\/p>\n When I no longer had access to a gym last year, I started walking in the local parks. They\u2019re great places for exercise, for being in nature, and for taking pictures. Lots of pictures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1129,"featured_media":21829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[669,999,64,4,5,3542,3545],"class_list":["post-21823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature","tag-denton","tag-mckinney","tag-nature-2","tag-pagan","tag-paganism","tag-parks","tag-plano"],"yoast_head":"\n<\/a>Being around other humans<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Being in Nature<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Photography<\/h2>\n
<\/a>The camera<\/h2>\n
<\/a>The parks<\/h2>\n
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