It seems like an eternity since we've stepped outside of the house. Amanda and I been self-quarantined here in our Los Angeles apartment for quite some time and are feeling the cabin fever symptoms pretty acutely. We stopped going out for walks a while back because people simply weren't taking the virus seriously and with my wife over 6 months pregnant, we don't really want to take any unnecessary risks.
A couple of days ago we got an email from a botanic garden that we are members with stating that we can get an appointment to walk through the reserve. We were a little apprehensive, but went ahead and signed up.
To our relief, they were doing a very good job of only letting a few people in at a time so there was ample space between us all. The nice thing about the gardens is that there are lots of side trails, so if you see people coming off in the distance, you can divert to a side trail to avoid them. This all feel so weird, but we have to do what we can to avoid getting sick.
It's amazing how the tension builds up in your body when you haven't spent any time outdoors. I believe that we have evolved over the eons to be fully integrated with nature. In fact, sometimes I wonder what the impact of living in cities will be over the long term. Will be evolve to be attracted to concrete? Will the sight of bricks lower our anxiety levels?
In some ways, I suppose you can say that this already happens to some degree. Have you ever been on a walk somewhere in the woods and gotten really lost? Do you remember the relief you felt when you got a glimpse of civilization in the distance? I know this feeling well. When I was a kid, I just to wander off in the woods and end up miles out in the wilderness. I never paid attention to which direction I was going!
Of course, this is probably something very different. When you are lost and freaking out a bit, just getting your bearings is enough to ease the stress. But who knows what will happen as humans continue to expand into the green belt. When I look out my window right now, all I see are some palm tress off in the distance blocked mostly by stucco covered buildings, stained cement and rusty sheet metal here and there dripping oxidation on whatever lies below.
At least when I take these breathers and head down to the gardens, I can forget all of that if only for a short moment. I have an internal battle that's always brewing. A conflict, I could say. On one hand, I want to live here in the city where I get lots of work and am close to anything that I want to do. On the other hand, I'd love to wake up every morning and walk outside to nature and the sounds of the birds chirping rather than dump trucks and distant construction.
A lot of people don't know this, but the weed you see in the above photo, the common sowthistle, is completely edible. The roots, stems, leaves and flowers are all edible. This is something to keep in mind if ever lost in the woods. The leaves contain vitamin c, protein, fat and carbs. So in a pinch, you won't have to starve - and these things are everywhere.
To a lot of people they look like dandelions, but one easy way to differentiate them is that dandelions have one flower per stalk, while sowthistles can have quite a few.
Since we've been isolated, it's been raining almost every day which is generally rare around these parts. It has made things especially green in the Botanic Gardens. I was taken aback a bit because as we were walking around, I kept stopping, looking and saying to Amanda, "Have we been to this section before?"
There are so many new flowering plants blooming that it has bee changing the landscape a bit. It also makes a difference that they've been taking advantage of the downtime and doing a lot of cleaning and repairs around the garden.
This place is gorgeous! You'd never guess that you're just a mile or so from inner city. We've decided to try to book ourselves in every other day or so just to get in as much exercise as possible.
I can only do so many laps up and down the stairs here in my apartment before I lose my mind! Time to meditate I think.
