Swamp Runneth Over

   I drove my parents to a flood, a harmless one.
   We sat in the car, gaping at water flowing over a backroad. Rain and snowmelt were the cause.
   Watching Mother Nature put on a show is more than fun. It relieves us from a barrage of stimuli. Even simple walks in the woods have the same effect.
   Nowadays, fewer people go hiking. Attendance is down at national parks. The drift away from nature recreation began during the 1980's. What's causing the change is electronic media. This assertion is backed up by research.
   What impact will this retreat from nature have on people? Or on society? It can't be good. Technology has out brains processing faster than ever, keeping up with a sensory overload.
   Nature is sensory under load. Nature is our reset button. Nature clears out our caches. Nature, on occasion, performs clean re-installs of our priorities.