It doesn’t seem as if a year has passed, but I began my master naturalist training last May. Tuesday night, I and fifteen or so of my cohorts, graduated and officially became master naturalists. Graduation gave me a sense of accomplishment. I feel I know so much and almost nothing. I will spend the rest of my life learning and understanding about the world we live in.

After the ceremony, my mother and I wandered off, across the plaza and joined other people in the gazebo down by the river. We were drawn to the water.

Boathouse Row along the Schuylkill River. The sun had just set and the sky glowed lavender and rose. The lights along the boathouse roofs, outlined the buildings like many twinkling stars.

Two days before a regatta took place on this very river, but tonight the water flowed placidly downstream. It wound its’ way to the Delaware River, where the two waters mingle and travel together to the sea.

Sometimes I wish I could float , simply float with the water and let the current carry me into the ocean. Where the waters move and push and pull. I would lick my lips and leave the salty taste of the sea.

A river is a funny thing. This large strong force is full of energy. So much energy, that it wears down rock and carries away soil and floods the land when it overflows. Powerful. It cuts is own path through the world to get where it needs to go.

The Schuylkill, the “Hidden River”, flows swiftly, calmly, as it was meant to be.

More on the Schuylkill River

Schuylkill River Greenway – https://schuylkillriver.org/

Schuylkill River Trail – https://www.visitphilly.com/things-to-do/attractions/schuylkill-river-trail/

Philadelphia’s Coastal Plain 

Beavers in the Schuylkill River

The Beavers are Back in Philly 

The Best Time to Visit Philly