Productive destruction

I'm clearly a lover of nature, and I've recently taken up trail running -- Zurich hilltops, Delaware piedmont in White Clay Creek State Park, along the Potomac in DC, Hyde Park in London (does that count?) pretty much anywhere I can find it.

This past weekend I had the great opportunity to give back and actually help create a new trail system near my parents' house in Kennett Square. The weather was gorgeous and crisp, and a whole bunch of people, mostly runners themselves, turned out to lend a hand, including Margot from the Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County, who made sure we tread as lightly as possible and didn't destroy any native plants.

What it looked like when we arrived.

Going...

Going...

Gone!


This was a fantastic experience and it felt really good to engage in some manual labour and fresh air. However, it turns out I am no longer a teenager. After a morning of hauling stumps, logs, and brush out of the way of the new trail, I came home to have lunch and had considerable trouble getting back out of my chair again. Ouch. Can't wait to see the finished trail!