Sunday, May
6th - Walking, walking, walking
Our true home is in the present moment.
To live in the present
moment is a miracle. The miracle is not to walk on water. The
miracle is to walk on the green Earth in the present moment…
- Thich Nhat Hanh -
Another week has comes to an end. I feel like time
is moving so quickly now that the weather has warmed. Our days
are growing long again (more than 20 hours of daylight now!),
and I find myself on the move from very early in the morning until
late in the evening.
Last
Thursday was such a gorgeous day that Steve and I decided to drive
up to the top of Murphy Dome to do a little bit of hiking. The
last time I was up there, there was still a lot of snow covering
much of the ground, and it was freezing cold. This time, it was
cool (low 50s) and a little windy, and although the path is still
snow-covered, the surrounding muskeg and tundra were bare of snow.
We decided to walk down to the first Tors rock and back - about
2 miles roundtrip.
Walking
on 'mushy' ground is not easy. Stepping on muskeg is like stepping
on a sponge, and walking across it involves avoiding the multitude
of open ponds that range in size from potholes to small lakes.
On top of Murphy Dome, there are mostly small puddles, so not
watching where you step can result in wet shoes. It was definitely
a workout; going to the rock was downhill, but coming back was
all uphill. We were both tired by the time we got back to the
car.
On Friday, Steve went in and had his informal retirement
ceremony with just his guys. He was given an awesome plaque (HUGE)
from the company. Now he has at least 3 or 4 of them. One day
I'll take photos to share. He informed me that the garage is going
to be the place for all his army memorabilia, which is fine with
me. I offered him the walls in the home office, but he said there's
not enough room in there.
I was supposed to meet another newcomer to AK (Valerie)
on Friday, but she went on a job interview and was hired on the
spot. (This is good) We'll probably meet up sometime next week
now. I 'met' Valerie through the Alaska Living Yahoo group. She
originally moved to Ketchikan, but decided that she might like
Fairbanks better. I hope so!
Despite achy muscles from our hike on Murphy Dome,
Steve and I walked three miles on Friday night with Sedona. I
was thrilled when he offered to walk the long loop with me, rather
than the easy 1-mile lap around the block. I hope he'll continue
to walk with me. It will do us good.
I
took a few photos of the plants I brought home from the nursery.
They're doing well in my window sill, but I do need to transplant
them soon, as they're growing too large for the pots they're in.
I'll put them in a bigger pot and then gradually get them used
to being outside when it's warm in the afternoon - bringing them
in at night. After June 1st, I should be able to leave them out
all day and night. I love how my kitchen window sill looks!
The daisies I started from seeds have already sprouted
and they'll need to be transplanted soon too. The pansies I started
a few weeks ago didn't grow. It was probably my error. I'm going
to try again with different seeds.
Today, after a leisurely morning of coffee sipping
and channel surfing, we decided to take Sedona to Chena Lakes
Rec Area for a hike along the river. This is the same path I walked
with Sedona back in April (when there was still snow on the ground).
This time, the path was clear, so we decided to walk the entire
4.35 mile loop.
It
was a great hike through tall birch trees, and across marshy areas.
Some portions followed the banks of the Chena River, and we saw
ducks swimming, and evidence of beaver activity. We also saw a
lot of moose nuggets, but not the creature from which they come.
(Which reminds me... the other night, while we were watching TV,
a moose ran through our backyard - only about 10 feet from our
back door! It happened so fast, I didn't have time to grab my
camera. I was thrilled to see such a huge creature in my yard,
and I hope she'll be back again.)
The hike took us about an hour and 20 minutes. We
stopped a few times to let Sedona take a dip in the river, and
drink some water from puddles. And of course, I took photos. I
didn't take too many; I wanted to savor the outdoors and the scenery.
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To
me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome
than the most luxurious Persian rug. ~ Helen Keller |
In
closing, I'd like to share this photo I took of the resident squirrel.
He lives in the trees in our yard, and steals the seeds and suet
I put out for the birds. Now, he's gotten even more brazen and
comes up on the deck to eat the sunflower seeds I have in a tray
right by the sliding glass door. I placed them there so that Airborne
could watch the birds. Mr. Squirrel has been helping himself too.
What's even funnier is when I have the sliding glass door open
and only the screen closed. Airborne almost has a heart attack
trying to get at him, and I swear he sneers at her.
This time he stopped long enough for me to take
his picture. He's a handsome little fellow, isn't he?
