When stress looms, take a walk on the beach

There is something about short, winter days and long, winter nights that make us all want to hunker down beneath a pile of quilts and turn on the television. But as families gather to make the season bright, these short, chilly days are a good time to throw off the blankets, pull on hats and gloves, and venture outside.

Even the Boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach, so crowded in summer, now quietly invites families with strollers and young children on bikes.

The beaches are broad and uncluttered, and anyone who has not yet discovered the new Gordons Pond trail will find their spirits brighter if they take time to explore it. There’s a wildness to the winter landscape that unfolds along the trail that will turn just about any child, and many adults, into a hunter or a pirate or maybe a budding naturalist.

It’s a wildness that has not been overlooked by the staff at Cape Henlopen State Park. The Seaside Nature Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, and there’s a Borrow-A-Bike program available until 3 p.m., weather permitting, on days when the nature center is open.

The park is also offering a special program about winter birds at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 27, when children age 5 and up, accompanied by an adult, will make treats for birds wintering over in the Cape Region. Then on New Year’s Eve, there’s a special 11 a.m. hike, when children 7 and older can learn about the animals who live in the park over the winter and how they keep warm.

These and other programs offer plenty of organized opportunities for everyone to get outside, but nature awaits us every time we open the door.

When stress and anticipation all but overwhelm us, it’s a perfect time to get out into the natural world at our doorstep.

Isn’t it the ocean and the marsh that keep us here or brought us here in the first place?

Space for park programs is limited, so call 302-645-6852 to preregister or go to destateparks.com for more information.