Monday musing 1

The spiced pumpkin scented candle is burning nearby, it's sweet aroma contributes to my calmness. Peter Gabriel's "In your eyes" is playing on my Pandora radio quickmix, surley to be replaced any moment by some random pick of hte program. I have a decaf coffeelike beverage in a hand thrown ceramic mug and my boy is fast asleep. Today I have made a concsious effort to change the routine I have gotten into, more of a rut in many ways.

The change comes swiftly on the heels of a visit from old friends. Without even knowing it, they brought with them a forward motion, an energy that I am harnessing and hoping to use to continue to propel me forward out of the reluctant space I have been in. The visit with them was so good, no great, it left me wanting to be a better me again. I think there's something about spending time with folks who know you well that offers a chance to shed secrets and inhibitions enough to let go of crutches and stand on one's own. At least I feel it is like that for me.

One of the things we did during their visit was take a hike on the Greenbelt. It's a corridor of land outside of Denton that has trails along the Trinity river and stretches up to Lake Ray Roberts. I think it is the most green I have found in one place that close to Denton. Of course there is more green actually at lake Ray Roberts. Anyway, all 7 of us, headed out and walked. It was a crisp cool day with the sun shing bright and reflecting on the water. We saw a passing flock of Cedar Waxwing, which as of last year, are one of my favorite migrating birds. I just think they are beautiful. We also saw many lovely sycamore, which until last month I had never knowingly seen. You can see in the pic above how the bark changes as the tree grows taller. It changes from brown and textured to white and very smooth. Beautiful. I have been introduced to a number of new trees here including the Blackjack Oak, Bluejack Oak, Post Oak, and Winged Elm with more to still learn.

Tonight I'm posting this pic of our old girl because I am thinking of her a lot lately. Little Deer is approximately 15 years old. She has aged tremendously in the past year having regular seizures, hearing loss and cataract growth, to add to her old ACL injuries. She has been a great dog, hiking partner, fellow traveler, and a member of my family for almost 12 of htose 15 years. We noticed over the past few years that the winters realy take their toll on her and so far this one no different. I know that when she finally leaves us in this life, she will be missed.