One of the activities I've challenged myself to do in 2024 is to go for solo drives to combat my pandemic-induced agoraphobia. I nearly stopped driving altogether. (Mental health problems are fun to deal with ... NOT). I'm quite good at driving to my daughter Jodie's place in Springfield ... just over 10 miles away. Yesterday I decided to drive to Junction City alone ... about 11 miles north of where I live.
I stopped by Dollar Tree and two thrift stores, as those feel like "safe places" to me. On the way home, I decided to return to Junction City Pond. It was a pretty, sunny afternoon, so I decided to follow the path around the water. The pond must have been recently re-stocked with fish, because there were quite a number of folks out with their lines in the water.
On the back side of the pond is a forested area where the recent rain kept the air humid and the ground muddy. The pond creeped up the shoreline
and there was lots of moss covering rocks and climbing the trees.
The wind was up a bit, and the water muddy and rough. I saw one fish jump out of the waves like he was happy to feel the sunshine and grateful to have a less crowded spot in which to swim. Some trees limbs, overloaded from last winter's ice storm, had cracked and rested on the banks of the shoreline.
Emerging from the forest shadows, my eye was drawn to bits of wildflower color. This vetch was a bit beat up by the wind and bogged down by the rain earlier in the week. The color, though. Vibrant!
Near the highway, white meadowfoam are blooming.
Back at the parking lot, I felt more calm and refreshed from my walk. I took time to stand by my car and look northwest over the farmlands and coastal mountain range.
Fulfilling a self-challenge and getting distance vision is always good for my soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment