Tag: Nature

A Calm Mind is a Precious Gift

On By DGThomaIn 2016, Exercise, Family, News and Reviews, WritingLeave a comment

The Bastrop State Park is a quick 20-minute drive from my home.  I love to visit the park, picnicking, cooking on the grill or hiking and running the trails.  My memories are peppered with hours spent in the park.

In September 2011 a roaring fire swept through Bastrop County in Central Texas.  The fiery inferno didn’t spare the state park. The resulting devastation affected ninety-six percent of the park as firefighters struggled to extinguish the blaze.   Ultimately, it charred 32,000 acres.

The recovery has been amazing and the many volunteers who work tirelessly to revitalize it are inspiring.

20160228_101940

Last Sunday, we arrived at the park for our first visit of the new year. As I tightened my laces, my spirit stirred.  The sandy trail, flowed beneath my sneakers, grabbing  for traction, keeping me sure-footed as  I navigated the rocky trail.

The rustle of the dry leaves falling from the trees whispered, reminiscent of a Texas rattlesnake.

20160228_110817

Fallen trees lay tangled, a jigsaw of trunks etched on the ground by spring flooding.  We passed a young hiker garbed in a pink dress and knee high cowboy boots.  She grasped her father’s hand wide eyed as her brother warned us “to watch out for those ants up ahead”.  He punctuated his words with his walking stick, the stick twice his size.

Regal pine trees crooned a melody, their branches, the wind’s violin.  Small white flowers sprinkled across our path an embryo that would soon be plump juicy berries, ripe and tart.20160228_115141

Trudging up slopes I flew down the other side, shedding inhibitions.  I felt free to stumble, laugh, fall and get back up to do it again.  Leaping mud puddles in a single bound, I conquered makeshift bridges and eluded poisonous tendrils of vines alongside the trail.

Fire damage and destruction faded.  Sparks of green climbed over and under fallen and damaged trees.

20160228_095919

Seven miles of fun later, wonderfully spent but also energized, I sat.  Warmed by the sun, I enjoyed the song of a bird, the notes carried on the breeze.  Marveling at the unexpected joy of a soul unburdened, my soul and body were restored.  What a precious gift!

The Quiet After the Tempests

On By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Musings, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

Last year I persistently clacked the keyboard, determined to put some small entertainment on the blank page.   If not entertainment, then perhaps grammatically correct sentences.  Doggedly producing words, I waited for a gem to flow through my fingers.

Then I faltered.  I’ve been away from the page for a while, pulled by distractions and obligations.

It began with Thanksgiving, the gentle nudge away from writing.  The busy work and family obligations wooed me.  I allowed myself to let writing slide for a while, missing a blog post, then two and three.  My novel (s) in waiting went unopened for weeks.  New ideas blossomed in my head and faded; notepads empty and computers idle.

Today I attempted to regain focus.  Christmas has passed and Christmas future is far away.  I took a deep breath, mentally rather than physically and opened a beautifully blank page.

Behind the computer screen, through the windowpane, two red cardinals play in the leaves.  I smile and watch them foraging when suddenly the leaves around the bright spots of red became alive with movement.  Bobbing in and out of the fallen oak leaves are numerous female cardinals.  Their slight movement camouflaged, their coloring matching the dried leaves.  Enjoying the activity, I see a squirrel has entered the scene.  He too is easy to miss as he darts among the reds and browns of the winter landscape.

Past the tall barren oaks and through splashes of green from the fir trees, my neighbors walk their large white dog down our country lane; his full coat and bushy tail appear at odd intervals through the kaleidoscope of nature.

I recall the many cities I visited in the last few weeks and the family stories I intend to share, later.  Now, I’m going to relax and enjoy nature.  I’ll be back to catch up on travel and family a little later.