“The woods carry sounds in their slow rhythms, sounds that only a heart can hear.”

Kira Jane Buxton, Hollow Kingdom

When Rebekah and I finished our gentle meander through the NCBG Display Garden we made our way on through the back gate, along the bike path, and down to the hiking trailhead for another lovely walk.

This is “Part 2” of our good day at the botanical garden, and I have to tell you I am so pleased that Rebekah was able to engage the additional hike without any reservations. We have to be careful, of course, but let’s face it I’m not exactly moving that fast myself anymore!

Besides, the point of hiking in a natural preserve is to pause, to watch, to learn, and to listen. To that end there is a great plaque on one of the trails that reads thus:

We invite you to take a short rest here and concentrate on the sounds of the forest around you….

The Story Told:

We looked for evidence of what we had just learned in the “Piedmont” section when we toured the Display Gardens. And we sat for a few minutes on a bench halfway along to talk about what we were seeing and to practice a little listening.

I was reminded of my epic Appalachian Trail hike many years ago, when I walked more than 500 miles with friends over a nine-week expedition walking north through Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and into Pennsylvania. I would love to do some of that again.

The story told by days like these is – to my mind and spirit – pretty persuasive. The beauty of North Carolina brings to mind a quote that is unattributed – other than I have heard myself say it a few times! So you never know, it may be mine!

“This place is so beautiful God keeps a cabin in North Carolina!”

I’m not saying “believe in God” is written across the sky when I walk in the woods. But I am saying it is one of the evidences I can’t miss when I take the time to stop and listen.

Maybe some of these photographs will help. Take a good long look, and then take the time to get out into the woods yourself. Get out there and listen.

Like I said, the story told by days like this – by places like the North Carolina woods – is pretty persuasive – DEREK