Still Winter

Sheesh, got a reminder from Alessia that I haven't posted. Got a reminder from Mr. Wind when I stepped outside this morning that it is still winter. Holy bejeezus it was pretty cold. Thee was a dusting of snow on the ground, but by noon it had disappeared and the sun was out. I bundled up and ventured outside for a walk to one of my favorite spots.

"There is a privacy about it which no other season gives you...In spring, summer, and fall people sort of have an open season on each other; only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself."

~Ruth Stout

Spring in Winter

It was a beautiful sunny day today. I could have sworn it was spring. Hard to believe that it is still winter. This is just a tease because the weather forecast is calling for colder weather by this weekend. Guess I chose a good day to take off from work and spend time with old friends. After I spent the morning exercising with a friend, I rushed to meet another for lunch. After lunch, we decided to go to the park because the weather was so nice.

"Do you want to walk or sit?" he asked.

"Walk," I replied - afraid I wouldn't know how to handle the awkward silence I knew would ensue. Most of the time I welcome silences, but this was an old friend that I've just recently been talking to again. Wondered if we still had enough in common to still be friends.

We walked and talked. Discussing our separate lives. Yes, there were silences. Not so awkward, as I had feared. Appropriate silences. Silences made as if to take a break from conversation to absorb the scenery on this beautiful day. Before I knew it, we had walked around the park three times. I stopped to stretch my calves. 

"Do you want to walk some more?" he asked.

"Sit, I want to sit..." I was tired because prior to meeting him for lunch, I had already completed a three and a half mile hilly walk.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" he asked.

"I wanted to walk," I replied.

We sat and talked some more. Before I knew it, two hours had elapsed. We began walking back to our cars. His hand brushed mine, accidentally. The next thing I knew, we were two friends holding hands walking back to our cars. In silence. It was a comforting feeling. We hugged and got into our cars and drove our separate ways. A nice ending to a beautiful afternoon.

Choices

What a busy day -- and I'm exhausted. As you can see from the photographs below, I went to my fave place to walk. Today was a little different from the other day. I was alone and nobody else was out there. That's how I like it. (I'm acting like it is my own nature center.) I was a little annoyed at the fact that I saw trash here and there along my walk. I tried to pick up what I could, but in the future--please take your trash with you!

"The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn." David Russell

For Auntie B. the quote for this photograph would be Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken." Why? Obviously, there is a fork in the path and I had to make a choice of which path to take. Luckily, I walk here often, and have been able to take both. However, in life we are not always so fortunate.

And what would a walk in my favorite place be without my deer friends...I had to include a pic of this one, curiously staring at me. I wonder what was going through the mind of my buddy.