Winter Blues II

Another walk in the park.  Cattus Island, a multi-eco system county park which consists of martime forest, freshwater wetlands and saltwater marshes, is a short jaunt from our home and one of my favorite thinking places.  Abundant with trails, today we set out for another stroll, even though the elements were not the best.  While 43 degrees, it was often overcast and very windy, making temperatures seem just above freezing.

This would be our first trek down this mile long trail known as the "unpaved road."  Seagulls, ducks and a few geese waded the waters and soared over the marshland, sometimes against winds so strong that the gulls almost seemed suspended in mid-air. 

There is solace and quietude at Cattus.  We talked about how each visit there has been a treat, always seeing something new, even in the dead of winter.  While we still have wildlife to find "in season", for now we are learning the terrain and geography so that in warmer months, we can turn our attention more at what we see in between the landscapes.  There is something both envigorating about Cattus, as well as almost creepy at times because it can be so desolate, despite being situated in a major county seat.  While there, you feel like you're on another planet.

 At the end of the mile, we came upon the bayshore which was hugged by broken ice, several inches thick, with smaller islands of ice being tossed around in the cold waves.  We were amazed by the amount of ice that remained along the shoreline.  On the other side of the narrow sandy beach, rested a marsh.

As we came upon the shoreline, the wind was strong and constant.   It was very cold, but we had dressed appropriately. With each step forward, the gusts intensified as we walked along the beach.  We considered abandoning the stroll, dreading the return walk in which we would be walking against the wind.  Nevertheless, we continued on, walking on the sand in boots, admiring the sheets of ice and snow that were being tossed by the waves before us.  We came around a bend and found a gigantic pile of snow and ice, as if a snow plow had come along, but none had.  We called it "the iceberg."

The iceberg was the end of the trail, so we turned and headed back along the beach, walking into the strong, cold winds, thankful the sun had come out to warm our faces.  The howling of the wind made it impossible for us to really talk to each other, and the walk itself, on the sand, made us winded.

As we pulled away from the shoreline, we were amazed by the temperature difference, as well as how much quieter things became again.  We sat on a bench for several minutes, catching our breath and sharing a bottle of water before heading around the Scout trail, just short of a mile, where we were delighted to find another "hidden beach" with the Mathis bridge going into Seaside Heights off in the distance.

It was brisk adventure, to say the least, but it felt good to get out, find trails we had not yet seen and map out our strolls for warmer weather when the park should be full of life.  The best part is, the park is close to where we live and yet, mentally, it can take us far, far away from the daily hustles and bustles of life.