Pine Needle Carpet, Myles Standish State Forest, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

When was the last time you walked on a supple but squishy carpet of pine needles?  It feels and smells a whole lot better than the cushion insoles made of plastic and gel on sale at the shoe store.

A natural park reminds me of my connection to the earth - I am reminded that my food comes from it - through the thoughtful effort of tilling, planting, watering, nurturing, growing, harvesting, and then repeating the cycle again.  WARNING: please stop reading now or you will be exposed to another vegan rant.

 I don't believe our place in the natural order is the systematic and organized raising and killing of literally billions of sentient animals annually for food.  Refraining from consuming or using animal products still leaves a bounty of great food to eat - fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds are quite enough to make wonderful meals (and beer, wine, and dark chocolate are usually vegan, too).  There - I feel better.