Spectacular



Along a wooded path



The only sound in the woods today was the crackle of leaves beneath our feet as we hiked along.  Each step sent up the sun-baked, dry leaf aroma that mixed with the smell of wood smoke in the air.  We stopped in complete awe at the scenery before us a number of times along the way.  We stopped to chat with a neighbor and scratch his dog's head.  Mike stopped to steal a couple of apples from a tree that used to belong to other neighbors who have now moved away and then stopped to sit on a log and eat his apples at the top of a hill.  Mike stopped again to point out a snake sunning itself on the path.  That put renewed pep in my step--not a time to stop in my book.  It was a day that can be only be called spectacular, or, maybe, glorious.

Mike makes this walk nearly everyday.  I usually stick to the road, but I enjoy the woods once in the fall and once in the spring.  I tend to appreciate the stopping to contemplate the wonders of nature a whole lot less than Mike does.  Especially the stopping.  Have to  give credit, though.  Since Mike has lost weight he keeps a much better pace.  His stopping now really is to contemplate some marvel of the natural world rather than to catch his breath.


Looking at the back of my house from the woods.  Okay, now I'm just showing off.