Outdoor Social Coordinator.

It's no secret that I like to be outside. I want to be walking, hiking, climbing on rocks, covered in mud, with sweat on my brow and fire in my calf muscles. As a lifelong resident of upstate New York, with no shortage of natural spaces, environmental preserves and state/city/town/municipal parks at every bend, I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to frequently indulge myself. At a recent get-together with friends, I was selected the Outdoor Social Coordinator; that is, with my academic-née-dayhiker approach to non-urban exploration, it was decided that I should organize outings for friends who want to discover the topography of the area.

I try to visit green spaces multiple times per week. To be fair, I'm quite content to sit in Glen Park for hours at a clip -- but, being tasked as I have been, I volunteered my boyfriend to be my companion at two new spots: the Great Baehre Swamp in Williamsville, and Akron Falls State Park in Newstead. In the picture above, a well-maintained plank boardwalk suspends the visitor over the Great Baehre Swamp, which is teeming with fish, bullfrogs, geese, muskrats, dragonflies, butterflies, robins, and red-winged blackbirds. There are ferns and skunk cabbage in abundance, providing a lush, dense carpet in a swampy forest.

In the town of Newstead, just past Clarence, is the impressive Akron Falls State Park. With athletics fields, 26 cobblestone pavilions, beautiful Murder Creek, two waterfalls, a sculpted rock garden, miles of paved trails, and over two miles of natural hiking trails, this park was my kind of paradise. The wildlife was surprisingly scant, but it also happened to be a federal holiday, so the park was swarming with families and friends and the smells of smoldering charcoal -- it is my belief that the animals knew better than to go anywhere near the small children with rocks and fishing rods.

I hope to organize an actual trip to an out-of-town park or nature preserve in the next few weeks, but pleasantly, this summer has been so busy, that I don't know when a trip will happen. I begin my new job tomorrow, and in only four and a half weeks, I depart for the other side of the pond. In terms of fun, summers seem to be either feast or famine -- and this year, I am bloated from bliss.