My Morning Walk

The morning called, and I left the house about 9 am into a cooler and less humid day.  The sun was shining through a thin layer of wavy clouds.  I stood where the brightest light was blocked by a tree and watched the play of light and shadow, and the movement of the clouds.   I turned to walk down the street and saw a hawk soaring overhead - I hadn't seen one for a while.  Then a slowly falling leaf caught my attention, and I watched as it floated down and was caught by the leaves of a smaller tree.  The journey on to earth will have to wait a while.  The breeze fluttered the poplar leaves high up, then danced the flowering shrubs before washing cool against my face.  On down into the park I walked, with calling crows overhead, squirrels rustling on the forest floor, then a shower of falling leaves, and then a single falling leaf.

I walked up a different access trail and out of the park to the neighborhood up on the hill.  A hawk - perhaps the same one I'd seen earlier - flew close by and then higher into a tree - sounding its shrill call.  Over the next few minutes it flew from one perch to another, calling.  Then I heard another hawk over to the east, returning the call.

I wandered around through the neighborhood and back down by the creek.  I paused to watch the water striders atop the calm pool and their shadows on the bottom, some small fish that occasionally rose to the surface and sent out rings of ripples, and the reflection of green leaves on the water.

Walking on through the smell of cut grass, the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the breeze were a delightful combination.  The world is rich.

Whatever Good I Can

The golden glow from the rising sun lights up patches of the tree canopy, signaling the start of a new day.  New energy coming in to power the life of the planet.  It seems so warm, generous, and peaceful.  But this is the same sun that dawns in Syria, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and so many other places where life is not generous and peaceful.  The sun rises on the evil and the good alike.  The sun doesn't judge.  It just shines, providing energy for our actions, whatever they may be.  What will I do with my day, the energy, the life that is given me?  I'll be kind, and generous, and do whatever good I can.

Summer Evening

Golden light streams in from the west.  The air is warm, but the heat of the day is off, and without the intensity of the midday sun it is quite pleasant.  Two squirrels ran out of the dogwood tree and back along the fence as I left the house.  Up the street a rabbit eschewed the thick grass of the lawn to munch on a weed poking up through the gravel drive.  Now a cardinal flies past, fast and direct toward some evening destination, as robins forage on the lawn.  Cicadas call from the trees.  A woman I know from yoga classes is walking a few houses up the street, coming home from a gathering of young families celebrating the last evening before the kids go back to school.

The very tops of the tulip poplars wave gently in a breeze that remains high above.  There's a feeling of settling, of winding down, as this part of Earth turns away from the Sun and prepares to rest for the night.  Another turn in the cycle of days.  I feel myself settling, winding down as well.  It feels good to flow with the pulse of the world, rather than fighting against it.

Movement is the Cure

Late August, and the heat wave has abated.  The mornings are cooler, but as it warms up the cicadas begin singing in the trees.  The past two days I've gone for short runs with some sprinting - I find I like sprinting as a change of pace from a long run.  This morning my legs feel the effects - tightness in the hamstrings and glutes.  I did some hamstring strengthening exercises, and I'm avoiding sitting - as that will exacerbate the tightness.

Movement is the cure.  Not big, aggressive movement or stretching, but gentle movement, and it doesn't take much to find the edges of sensation in the muscles.  I thought a bike ride would be nice, using the muscles in a very different way than running.  Rather than taking my all purpose bike out on the parkway trail, I decided to take my road bike and ride up Sligo Creek Parkway.  It was after rush hour, so I thought traffic would be light.  It was a good ride.  The road is in pretty good shape - just a few rough pavement sections on the way back.  Going west (upstream) is steadily up hill, giving nice resistance to pedal into.  Coming back is easier and faster.  I doubled up one stretch of almost a mile, for a total of 6.8 miles.  I'll be doing this more on the nice fall days coming up.

I find that getting outside for some activity in the morning improves my experience for the rest of the day.