This morning I woke up determined to go on a new adventure. Mother nature tried her best to thwart my efforts, she was spitting freezing rain at me as I pulled out the driveway. My first destination was to be Caleb Smith Park in Smithtown but alas, they are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays. A quick peek at my map quest sent me off to the Sweetbriar Nature Center.
December doesn't seem like the ideal month to visit a nature center but I hope these photos show you just how wrong that really is. The rain never let up but one photography tip I always share is that clouds and rain can make for excellent lighting.
Sweetbriar Nature Center is quite small, one could explore it from end to end in a few hours. That leaves plenty of time to stop and see the many sights such as the Birds of Prey and the Farm Animals.
I can't wait to go back in the spring and see these gardens. My gardening style has always been rustic country and I can tell these won't disappoint me.
A small herb bed shows how lovingly maintained these grounds are. In fact there's a nice large house with a very helpful staff inside and yes, that most welcome public restroom.
This grape arbor will be wonderful to walk down on a hot August day, of course that didn't stop me from walking it today.
Every where you turned there were places to sit and relax. A number of local schools visit the grounds but even then I imagine you'd have no problem finding a place to sit.
The sensory garden is something I love and can't wait to see once it's warm again. It had 5 sections, Taste, Touch, Sight, Sound and Scent, each marked with a marker.
This was the first marker I found, I had to double check the other markers to be sure but yup, it's a tongue. I appreciated the whimsy.
Tucked into the Sound part of the sensory garden was a nice little tranquil seating area. Andy and I love to go for rides on his Harley Motorcycle with a picnic lunch packed in the saddlebag. A nice loaf of french bread, some cheese and a salami… yum! I already told him I can't wait to come back here with him. We don't have to wait for the spring, a light snow day would be good too.
If you look carefully, you can still find some blooms. I'll guess this is in the Aster family.
The park map showed a trail down to the Nissequogue river so of course I had to explore. At this point the rain started to come down steadily so I packed the camera away. That's ok because it gives me reason to go back and take more photos!
Some walks are hard and some are easy. This one was quite easy, a great starter location. I also added the link "Child friendly" because this is an awesome location to take your kids. Don't wait till spring, put on those hiking shoes and go now.
melanie
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