Clancey's Gift...

   ...The air was warm and inviting.  Colors of gold and orange blazoned everywhere.  Loading up all the essential equipment to help me to immerse myself into the hiking experience, I set out for Silver Creek Park.  It was a trail I had not walked in many years.  Too many of my hiking friends now no longer could make the trek, but I was determined to experience that trail  more time.  For the first time in years I dug out my walking staff to help me along the way.  Strapping my fanny pack around my middle I now had some inspirational music to listen to as I walked along taking in all the sensory experiences of the trail.  The sun was bright, the air was clear.  It was peak weekend for the fall foliage and there were many families taking advantage of this season of leaf peeping.

    Armed with my trusty camera I walked with a slower pace than others around me as I stopped frequently to capture the various sights along the way.  Wild asters were still blooming along the trail.  I wanted to capture their bit of purple amongst the grasses.   Red and gold aren't the only colors of fall.  As I aimed my camera at the asters fortuitously a cabbage moth lighted on the edge of one of the blossoms.  I caught it in the warm sunshine enjoying the flowers and the warm air.  Though I had not intended to walk the whole trail, that moment inspired me to continue on the trail.  There were many families walking the trail that day.  Some greeted me, some ignored me, others simply stared at the ground as they passed by.  I decided to say hello to everyone as I walked.  Everyone wanted to be outside.  The day was irresistable.  Even the sullen teenagers  who were grudgingly walking with their families as they texted friends from their cell phones had to have enjoyed being outside for a change.  "Good for you, Mom" I thought.   "Glad to see you 'forced' your teen to get outside and walk."  Children on the trails stared at me.  Most had never seen a character quite like me.  It was amusing to me to see how each person reacted to me in my funny beret sporting a walking stick as I listened to music from my fanny pack.  I was listening to "Peaceful Pond" by Dean Evenson.  It is the fall Zen music I always enjoy at this time of year.  Even though I had Peaceful Pond playing, I could still hear the birds chirping and the crickets in concert in the background.  There was the occasional squirrel squabbling in the trees as he argued over territorial rights.  One thing I noticed was that the older the individuals were walking the trails the friendlier they were.  I did manage a few quick conversations with some.  It was dry and warm, and sunny making for a perfect day for walking critters on the trails.  They came in all sizes and breeds.  One dog looked so much like a fox that I was not too sure if it was actually a dog, but I felt foolish asking the owner about  the dog's breed. I'm still not too sure it wasn't a fox.   It's always good to have a bit of enigma along the trail.  One of the funniest and cutest pups on the trail was a teeny Chihuahua.  At least it was small enough to not be a problem for the owners when it got tired walking a trail that would eventually prove to be too long for such a  little critter.  All along the way I had been collecting the occasional stone or pebble to place in my pocket.  Treasures of the trail. 

 At one point I came upon an area of broken and decayed trees that looked as if it was the place where the spirits of the woods lived.  One tree in particular appeared to have a wood sprite living in its gnarled trunk.  Imagination goes a long way in a hidden place like this.  Further along the trail I came to a place I had never been before.  The trail sign said Piney Pond.  I stepped off the trail to go to the edge of the pond.  "Wow!" I thought.  "A new discovery!"  After snapping several images of foliage and pond I returned to the regular trail.  The next area of the trail had several distinctive trees that stood like totems in the woods.  Covered with initials and carved hearts the trees looked as if they were covered in hieroglyphics. 

  By now I had been on the trail for nearly 2 hours.  I was losing light  for photographing and I was coming into a denser part of the forest. Needing to pick up my pace, I knew that I had only an hour of sunlight before the woods became too dark to see where I was going. At one point along the trail I looked up to see the crescent moon against the deepening blue sky. Along the trail I encountered an uprooted tree. Sparkling bit of moist spider webs sparkled like glitter sprinkled over the exposed  roots.  As I entered the area of the trail that was lined with pine trees, the wonderful aroma of pine filled the air. The trail grew darker as it began to take on a steeper incline.  I encountered several families who were just beginning their walk.  They had just come from their afternoon church services.  It would soon grow dark and none of these groups seemed to have flashlights with them. I knew it would be getting quite dark along the trail very soon.   

By  now I was definitely tired and my body was screaming at me to make it to the end of the trail soon.   By this point I was really appreciating having my walking staff on this hike.   Finally the trail emptied out at the parking lot where I had begun my walk.  Unloading myself of all the equipment I had taken with me on my walk I got into the car.  I was tired, but glad I had spent the day at Silver Creek.    It had taken me nearly 3 hours to walk the trail, but that was only because I took my own slow, sweet time to experience all the day had for me.   

One lesson I learned from my dog Clancey, it was a good day to just be still and sniff the wind, to feel the sunlight on your face, and just to be.  That was the real gift I took away from my walk at Silver Creek Park.