The Park

Just a little note: I wrote this in 6th grade, so it's not quite that good.

The Park

The Park has been around for as long as I can remember. It’s always been my favorite place too. The first time I went was in the spring. I was going to the "trail" as my dad and I would nickname it. As we were driving near the park, I could see it already. It was very big. (Hey, to an 11 year old, EVERYTHING is big.) When we parked the car I bolted out and picked a trail. It was one of the easy ones; there are 3 kinds of trails. Easy, which is a nice black tar road, medium, which is a clearly beaten path, and hard which can appear out of no where and there is a hazy small path that you often lose track of. That’s my favorite because you can explore more that way.

What I see at the trail is, well, depends on when you’re looking at it. Let’s start with spring. In spring at the park, you see many green leafed trees just overflowing with life, happiness, and repose. You can just practically leap up into the air and chatter with the birds, you can fill your tummy with grass with the deer, and you can float blissfully on some of the ponds napping with the warm heat of the sun blanketing your whole body with the ducks, fish, and frogs. Only the park ranger won’t allow it. There are many animals in the park, my dad and I saw a doe carrying a fawn, we caught a spring peeper frog, and we watched butterflies land on a flower and sip it’s sweet nectar. We even went on a hard trail and found a small stream with frogs and fish! I got my shoe wet crossing it. Yes sir, in the spring the Battle Creek Park is full of happenings and bliss.

In the summer the shady green leaves of the tall dominating trees dapple your face with shadows cooling the heat of the sun. As you walk along the trail you can sit at a resting area and think. Or maybe even take a nap in a nice warm clearing. If you walk into the prairie part of the park, it’s very hot but you can see the pond with lots of geese, cranes, and other waterfowl as well as other animals coming out to take a drink of the cool, refreshing, life-giving water. If you follow one section of the trail, you get back into the calm, composed shade of the trees. As you can see, the summer is very hot and calm but sometimes this peace is broken by the tall grass and the wildflowers. The wildflowers give summer a nice punch with every color imaginable! The park’s summer is just a rainbow of calmness and color.

In the fall however, it’s not calm at all! Every animal is bustling about in search of food and a good winter retreat. The birds can’t find that much food and so they are drinking lot’s of water and fitting as much food in their stomach as they can. Bang! Zoom! Whoosh! The spirited, lively, and bold red, orange, yellow, and brown tint the trees and the trees are beginning to look like fireworks. Animals are scurrying about birds are flying about and everything is disorganized and hectic as the animals are preparing for winter. It’s a good chance to exercise and breath the crisp cold air and see animals before they all hide away and fly south for the winter.

At wintertime, there are no birds or animals and all is calm, quiet and peaceful. The only sound you can hear is the soft crinch-crunch of the white numbing snow under your feet and the wind. At this time of year it a good time to admire the beauty of winter. The glittery snow glinting and sparkling in the sunlight. Your breath coming out in warm clouds, the snow settling down on the trees. You see the sheer surface of the iced pond, you look into the sky snow still falling and you see the sun, and the clouds floating in the air as serene as you feel right now. The snowflakes, each one different and unique falling silently as you reflect on the seasons. The lively spring, the hazy summer, the hectic autumn, and now this. The tranquil quiet winter. The chilling air spreading all over your body although cold, it’s not freezing. It’s almost mother nature’s way of soothing you, indulging you with contentment to relax and not get too excited. These are all the reasons why The Park is my favorite place.