Sound Bites & Snap Shots

It was great to be back at Ferdinand for another walk with Bill today.  As we pulled in, a deer crossed the road and then trotted off into the woods. In the spirit of Where’s Waldo, he can be spotted above.

The weather was perfectly sunny and brisk! It’s always a guess about what to wear because there is so much shade.  We both started off with double layers but Bill shed his flannel layer quickly and trekked with just his regular short-sleeved hiking shirt. I kept my vest on for about half of the walk before I got too warm and tucked it in my camelback.

We began at our usual spot on the trail with the hope that we might try to beat our fastest time. Shortly after we started, though, we both agreed that because of the thick leaf foliage on the trails it would be more prudent to walk carefully and not risk twisting an ankle from a hurried misstep in a hole or on a root.

On the blue trail, we heard rustling nearby in the brush.  We stopped to see if we could spy the cause and we were greeted by a wee little chipmunk. Once again, Where’s Waldo came into play.  It took me forever to see him but Bill’s eagle eyes had no problem. The critter is in both pictures above. 

I was deeply moved by the beauty of the forest.  Growing up in an area where fall foliage did not exist, this change of seasons is ever a surprise and always a breathtaking experience.  There exists a depth of color and vibrancy that is difficult to capture with words or photographs but some of the leaves did look truly gilded.  Later Bill and I stood on one of the bridges and watched the leaves fall. The sound of them drifting from the branches to the ground was gentle and soothing.  

About midday, I checked in with Mason and got a text back that read: “We got a new president.”

After days and days of counting ballots from Tuesday’s presidential election, the vote was finally in.  Our country’s new leaders would be Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.  We stopped and marked the moment with a few deep breaths and then we noticed that our phones were flooded with text messages. 

Here is where we were when we were made aware of this historical moment. The sense of relief that the election was over and the promise of hope for the future sparked new energy on our walk. The topics of our already deep conversations flowed even more freely and we soon realized we were almost to the end of our hike. 

I could see the road where we were parked and then I looked down at my watch.  We were at 4:12 even with a slight backtrack where I had missed a turn.  If we hurried, we could still make this a personal best.  I called over my shoulder that was my plan and I took off with Bill at my heels.  Our time today was 4:13:35 and the distance was 10.12 miles. Mission accomplished!

We ended this day on a high note with a Mexican dinner date with Mason, a skateboarding documentary called Waiting for Lightning, and then the celebratory speeches by President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.