No walking with Jo today. I’m flying to Arizona to spend time with my parents, something I do every January. Time for family, relaxation, sunshine, and warmth. See you soon. In the meantime, feel free to sit on this beautiful bench with me and just breathe.
I know today is Thursday and the doors I was going to feature are in my folder, but I just can’t do it. They should have been done last night, but life has gotten too busy at the moment and when I realized this morning that I hadn’t gotten them into a post and that I don’t have time in the next few days to respond to comments or visit all the posts I want to see, I decided enough is enough. Life has to be lived and work obligations met and especially in this season, I don’t want to be any more overwhelmed than need be.
So I’m taking a few days off, but leaving you with this shot from my Monday walk in the park. It’s a sort of “light at the end of the tunnel” photo, in a place you’ve seen at least several times on the blog before, once with fog at the end, once with a deer and rabbit silhouetted halfway down. Enjoy the beauty and the symbolism. Take time to enjoy the season and I’ll see you soon. Feel free to chat, as I’ll have a bit of time here and there to check and I’ll miss that.
When we were little, we had the orange set of Childcraft, a division of World Book Encyclopedia. Although I’ve gotten rid of many of the volumes (as they’re out of date in areas such as science), I still have the two that have classic children’s poems and stories. Here’s one of my favorites that I also read to our girls from a beautiful board book. Its rhythms are perfect for getting ready to sleep. It makes me happy just to read it again. And with that, I’m off to bed.
Tomorrow we head for southern California and then Mexico (Baja California) for our older daughter’s wedding. What a blessed time it will be! See you when we get back!
In the morning, I reloaded the large red Coleman cooler that my husband has had for over 40 years. Not only does it keep things cool, it makes a wonderful seat and attracts hummingbirds, who love anything red. The smaller cooler, my tech backpack, and small suitcase follow and I’m on the road again.
The dawn fog is beautiful, followed by a beautiful sunrise behind me (but nowhere to safely stop for a photo), putting a smile on my face as I set the cruise control at 85 mph, 5 mph over the speed limit.
Here’s my first sight of the Badlands off to the south. I’m very careful when I take photos while driving, so you don’t have to worry. Just relax and enjoy the view.
If we’d been at the cabin a week earlier, there might have been no riding and not much outdoor activity, as it was rainy with low-hanging fog. Fortunately, the week our older daughter, her fiancé, and his parents were there, the weather was excellent. The next week when I was at the “phone booth” (a high ridge where I can get phone reception), I took this photo of some of the many wildflowers flourishing in the wet spring.
It’s that time of year: time to load the van and point it west, to see familiar landmarks go buy, to head for the mountains. My only regret is that my husband can’t come along. Other than that, Willie’s words ring true as always and I just can’t wait to see this view again.
Those lovely mountains keep out phone service quite well unless you have a satellite phone and our internet is quite slow, so I’ll be saving up all my experiences and photos for when I get back (or maybe I’ll drop in when I’m in town.) In my absence, be safe and happy and I’ll look forward to seeing you all soon (but not too soon!)
