LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Here in Lake County we are blessed with an abundance of healthy choices for our outdoor activities, be they boating, walking, horseback riding or hiking.
There are no less than 30 parks to choose from. By selecting to walk in the woods, all of your senses are engaged. Upon entrance to the wild woods colors in every shade of green greet you, and are ever-changing due to the play of sunlight versus shade.
Next, a breeze may envelop your olfactory nerves with mossy and woody forest fragrances and earthy leaf mold scents. This may call up a contemplative mood, beckoning you to further exploration.
Writer David Rains Wallace says, “Smells lie deeper than our remembering, thinking neocortex, in the olfactory lobe we inherited from vertebrates. Yet smells are related to thought in profound ways because our nocturnal ancestors, the early mammals lived by smell.”
Various periodicals such as Horticulture Magazine, and Cosmos: the Science of Everything further tout the benefits of being outdoors in nature.
The scenery itself is uplifting and can even be meditative. But the soil surrounding us has been found to have a certain beneficial strain of bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, that facilitates a pleasant mood, causing anxiety levels to decline due to the release of seratonin.
Scientists believe the bacterium may even improve cognitive function. What more excuse could one want to get out in the garden or take a hike?
While enjoying a forest walk you may encounter a banana slug, a native of the Northwest, which is a sign of a healthy ecosystem.
According to the Society of Malacologists, or those who study mollusks such as snails, slugs and squid- banana slugs are solitary creatures who are found in moist, dark forests.
They may be bright yellow, or greenish with dark spots just like an over-ripe banana, hence its name.
The slug's color depends on its diet. Banana slugs are known as “natures decomposers.” They are herbavores and consume mushrooms, fallen leaves and animal droppings.
Banana slugs can grow quite large, reaching up to 9 inches or more. These slimy creatures are interesting to observe as they move only 6 ½ inches per minute.
They have two sets of retractable tentacles – two are eyestalks and two are chemical-detectors.
Albert Einstein said, “The joy of looking and comprehending is nature's most beautiful gift.”
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.