patrickthomasburns

The Launch

Today I am finalizing our new blog about hiking, Footpathsblog.com. We will share photos and comments on some of the hikes and ecosystems that we experience. Hopefully it will be a bit of peace and solace on social media.

Published by patrickthomasburns

I am a retired physician with a lifelong love for the outdoors and trees in particular. As I approached retirement I recognized that I wanted to experience nature in a new way, one more intimate and reflective, rather than the "task completed" manner that I had demonstrated in the past. My initial thought was to start a blog on trees native to North America but my daughters encouraged me to comment on our more generalized outdoors experiences featuring the trees as part of a broader ecosystems. The title Footpaths come from our experiences on and enjoyment of the ancient footpaths of the United Kingdom and is a link to my English heritage.

2 comments

  1. Hi Patrick —
    I’m one of the women you recently met at the Shawnee Lookout Cart Path. I loved your entry and have been exploring your back posts. So interesting and informative! I’m already planning a late February trip up to Gallagher Fen and Cedar Bog to see the skunk cabbage.
    Ellen and I have identified several other new locations to explore in the coming weeks and months.
    Have you been up to Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area in Indiana to observe the sandhill cranes? What a sight! Last November 33,000 cranes were counted in the area. Per the last weekly count (10/29/24) the number was 4,676 and will be increasing week by week thru mid-December. We’ve observed the cranes at Brookville but JP-FWA is something else altogether!
    Thanks so much for investing the time/energy to put the blog together. It’s a fabulous resource that I’ll come back to again and again.
    Your new fangirl —
    Tori Houlihan
    P.S. I love that you’ve profiled Northside’s Buttercup Valley and Parker Woods. My property is surrounded on three sides by Buttercup.

    Reply

    • Thanks for the kinds words. Foothspaths has added some purpose and creativity to our retirement. Pursuing the Sandhill Cranes is something that the photographer is very interested in so I’m going to research that a little more. Thanks for the suggestion.

      Reply

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