Excerpt. Personal Essay. Carbon Dioxide

In the front yard of my house is a tree whose branches I know as steps to a ladder. Looking straight up the sky becomes a mosaic where brown boarders frame various hues of green. It is a church of its own to the faithful. The patch of bark raw from my clumsy climbing feet is the welcome mat of an old friend.

Being outside, some distance away, the sounds of the storm from inside is muffled. Turbulent waters can calm suddenly sometimes. Think gently shaking water surface beneath the rolling dark grey clouds.

One tree can lift up to 100 gallons of water out of the ground and discharge it into the air in a single day, think of a heavy morning fog wrapped around you, think of shelter from the sun, shelter from a storm.

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Hiking around Yellow Springs

This article originally appeared in Dayton City Paper

Surrounded by trees walking down a staircase made of rock your eyes might catch glimpse of sun patches that sneak between leaves from the canopy overhead. It’s highly possible that you’ll encounter butterflies, squirrels, deer or any other sort of local wildlife. Following the sound of trickling water there is a small fall over rocks where the sunlight sparkles across the waters dancing surface. This is a scene you can easily encounter at any of the hiking trails located within and around Yellow Springs. As the weather heats up outside and the great outdoors call to you in a voice too loud to ignore, I suggest you think about hitting up this area.

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