Finding Sanctuary in Winter by Karin Marcus

This past weekend, temperatures finally got out of the teens, the sun was out, and my husband and I, after a very stressful week, decided to go out for a walk.

We drove to a national wildlife refuge and bird sanctuary, right in the middle of Philadelphia - the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum. This refuge was boxed between the international airport, humongous gasoline tanks, Interstate 95, and low income housing.

But there we were on miles of trails walking through a beautiful frozen wetland, surrounded by tall grasses and cattails, great blue herons, and herds of deer. The occasional plane that flew over head only punctuated the quiet of the woods.

I thought, “This is truly a sanctuary.”