Sunday Walk

You know I have to get my fix with an extended walk.  We had snow, sleet and rain Saturday with a killing frost Sunday morning and highs in the sixties during Sunday afternoon.

The tulips are wide open.

Grape hyacinths peek through grass.

The dogs played.

Along the creek I found the my first favorite large rock

and my second.

After a morning of laundry, dishes and dreary house hold chores, this was my reward. I did pay for it. I had to dig my shoe out of wetland and acquired a few scratches. Carrying a shoe, bleeding from briers, I walked to share my find with Marcy.  She thought the prize was well worth the trials.

The wild violets are beginning to bloom.

I believe Spring may have made it.

My Sunday Walk...

 It has been a while since I walked and explored. The morning was cool and perfect for just recentering and remembering what's important. Strolling to reconnect with nature, leaving all the stress behind and having nothing but enjoyment on my mind

I headed down the creek,

and saw this debris from the last flood, long ago.

The beauty in the small things was total pleasure.

The water is low from the drought.

The remains from the tornado, beginning to decay,

were an obstacle course for the dogs.

I continued to my favorite place,

Rock Hollow.

Saw poison oak and ferns, growly abundantly.

After a nice climb with only one stumble,

 a few briar scratches and seed ticks,

I am centered, relaxed and sweating.

We climb Turtle Ridge

and head back down the mountain.

Arriving at the crossing, we enjoy the water as the dogs cooled and relaxed.  It was just me and the dogs but I didn't feel alone in my adventure.  I felt Dad was there every step of the way.

Snake Hunt On Sunday Walk

My early morning walk began almost too late because the temperatures were already rising.  Maggie took advantage by cooling off in one of the spring branches we were exploring.

I was looking for flowers and just good  shots.  I love the spring branches that run into the creek because there is always something interesting, reflections, objects, anything makes for a good photo if you get it right.

Imagine my surprise when trying to capture the small water skaters on camera....

Snakeville under water!

The dogs went into action!

They searched high and low.

No luck, the snake was smarter than us.

I imagined he slithered under one of these rock ledges.

Hubby said he would wait til things settled

and solve our little snake problem.

The Borders did not want to give up,

but I finally convinced them to continue our walk.

We cooled again

and continued our walk.

We still saw beauty even with our snake eyes on.

Choosing A Different Path

Today, bright and early, I chose a different path for my Sunday walk. The dogs and I headed up the road, off the farm, away from the valley.  The dogs kept looking at me as if to say, are you sure?  We're not supposed to go this way.

The dogs didn't smell the flowers,

but they did smell every thing else.

Oh, the sights you see when you walk slowly and enjoy.  The edges of the road were as beautiful as any garden.

We climbed the hill

to greet the morning's sun.

and the best light for photographs.

The sky's beauty changed quickly.  We left the valley with only a sliver of sun, climbed and watched it shine through the trees, only to top the hill and view the sun in all its morning glory.

and headed down the hill for home.

I Blame Jules

Trying To Get  Over The Rainbow   would not let me wallow in my own self pity this morning and insisted I take a walk.  If you don't enjoy this, you can blame in on Jules, too. 

I looked out my kitchen window, or rather at my mess waiting to be cleaned, garden vegtables to be put away, and all the dirty dishes.  At that moment, I gave up and decided to take a walk.  This mess would wait on me.

I enjoyed a look at the fresh spring.

I whistled up all the dogs and began this Sunday's adventure.

TP enjoyed playing alligator.

The Borders enjoyed their eternal quest for sticks.

We traveled a different branch this time,

cooling at our leisure.

We saw an ancient wall for preventing erosion

and noticed the crawdads were cleaning house.

 

and we cooled in the shadows

The morning sun's light was perfect

for  reflections.

I'm not sure who enjoyed it the most.

The reflections blended with the fish,

making a natural work of art.

...and the fish were not afraid.

We traveled the narrow stream bed which today was small.  On flood days it reaches to the top and only natural debris can travel here.  This live water is from our first source behind the old garden.  It meanders a while and is joined by the second spring that runs along side the old garden spot.  It is a ways before the third and largest source, our drinking water, joins it and they all flow through the spring pond into the main creek.

...and here is where I climbed out of the shadows and coolness into the warmth of August sunshine.  It is hard to imagine a creek is born within these trees.

I have a few scratches from briars, I fell to one knee trying to climb a bank too steep for me...in flip flops.  I saw beautiful mossy rocks and vibrant green ferns.  I cooled my legs in clean water and wiggled my toes in clay mud and sand.  I sat on a rock bigger than my coffee table and just let the beauty soak in.  I saw no snakes or evil critters although I can't tell you if they saw me. 

It was quiet in this spring fed gulley.  I heard no cars from the distant highway, I heard no dogs barking because they were all with me.  It was very easy to imagine what the valley looked and felt like two hundred years ago before life on earth was so complicated.  It was refreshing to forget, even if just for a moment, that I had responsibilites and obligations.  It was just me and the dogs.  It was paradise.

And wanta know something?  The damn messy kitchen was still here when I got back!!!!!

Oh, well, I could pretend, couldn't I?  I surely needed that walk, glad you could join me.