A walk in nature is just the ticket right now, with the fall colors peaking and crisp air beckoning. i took a solo walk around Cowan’s Gap Lake, near our vacation cabin, on Sunday while my more ambitious companions climbed up the mountain to the overlook. I’m not ready for that yet post back surgery.

The lake path is a flat 1.5 mile loop which skirts this small but very photogenic lake in Fulton County, PA. We’ve been walking around this lake for 35 years (or more). It is the lake of our daughter’s childhood, as Lake Champlain (quite a lot larger but no less nostalgic) was mine.

This time, I sought to photograph several memorial benches that dot the lake. This is a fairly recent phenomenon, and one that is truly appreciated as I get older and need to rest along the way. There used to be just a few, very rustic, places to sit (mostly fashioned from large, felled trees, it seemed). Not sure when the park started accepting benches in people’s honor, but I thank them for doing so, and for the families that donated them.

As I read the inscriptions, I was taken with the range of ages of those memorized, as well as the different sentiments and styles. I didn’t know any of these people, and though I was compelled to try to find their obituaries online, I thought better of it. Just noting that they enjoyed the park and the lake as much as I have over the years made them my friends and compatriots.

I’m thinking of where around the lake I would want a bench, if I decide that is something that I’d like to be remembered by some day. Meanwhile, join me in commemorating lives spent enjoying the out of doors, as we approach All Saint’s Day/Day of the Dead.