JECY WEBER, Greenways Ranger
There are many breathtaking vistas at Metro Parks. Either natural or manmade, it is not hard to find a place so beautiful it takes your breath away. When asked what my favorite places in Metro Parks are, places do not come to mind. Instead, I think of the interactions I have had with the public or with co-workers. These make places memorable because of the experiences which happened there. One of these spots is the cutting garden at Inniswood Metro Garden. It always seems to be blooming in a riot of color. It is also the location I got to tell my long time Metro Park friends and co-workers I received a full-time Ranger position in the park district.
Next is at Blendon Woods. This is the park where I started my Beehives in the Parks project. Here was the location of my first hive five years ago at the beginning of the project and this year we added in a Langstroth hive just outside the nature center so the public can enjoy watching the honeybees. In addition, this year I added a hive at Scioto Audubon Metro Park. This hive makes the project six hives strong!
Finally, though I could go on and on, my next favorite place is the sky. In many of the Metro Parks there is an opportunity to view the sky and weather changing and moving. I have spent time with co-workers at Glacier Ridge watching thunderstorms roll in over the flat prairies. It was the first time I ever really saw the rolling edge of a storm. I remember clearing the park at Sharon Woods with my ranger partner and seeing the clouds swirl above us as a storm moved past. At Scioto Audubon (pictured below), I was fortunate to see some truly spectacular cloud formations one evening.
All of these parks offer open space to see and enjoy the vast skies of Central Ohio and maybe see something in them you have never seen before. I am fortunate to be able to document some of my favorite moments at the parks and have beautiful places to return to with wonderful memories.
— OHIO FALL COLOR FORECAST (see weekly updates on Ohio Dept of Natural Resources website) —
