A Living Magazine - Day 112 - Always Something New

On this day - after spending so much time in the city - I had a hankering for a country park experience. I went to Burger King and looked up Plymouth parks. Turns out, I'd walked by the Clifton E. French park every time I'd gone to the local library here. To me, a person who has vision issue--not wearing glasses sometimes, I miss some major things that I would enjoy, had I caught them. I always assumed the park entrance was only a real estate sign--maybe the colors?

Anyway, this park wasn't as far as the library, and I immediately took off to explore it. This won't be an overly deep and meaningful post. It is just a series of photographs of what I found when I got there...

The sign my dyslexic brain was telling me was a real estate sign.

The road leading in.

Good colors are starting to come in; not quite as brilliant and

diverse as New England, but beautiful, nonetheless.

One of the smaller parts of the lake.

What is this, hikers only? I had to make a double take.

If there aint geese, it isn't an IWALLK moment.

Summer vehicles, parked for the colder seasons.

This is very common here. The light colored leaves are wild grape vines. They take over other places.

They are very edible in the spring--the green shoots and leaves. I subsisted on these occasionally

in Livermore, California. They are jam-packed with fiber and Vitamin C.

Sumac leaves turning brilliant red.

Why do the lights point outward instead of downward? I don't know.

A close up of algae on the lake.

I had taken four hours to explore this, and walked on every trail I could find. It wasn't extraordinary, except in its peacefulness and rough, waning autumn beauty. Every natural spot is different. Always something new can be found off the beaten trail. Were that not the case, I would never try to see more. I got back into town as the sun set. It was quite lovely and deserved its own focus...

I was physically tired, but not ready to head back to Allyson's yet. So, for no particularly good reason, I decided to walk eastward along the route that led into Minneapolis. I wasn't going to go too far, but just wanted to see more of what I'd glimpsed, speeding by on Bus 717.

The perspective walking is always so different--so new, compared to what can be seen from a vehicle. Driving is an efficient way of going from point A to point B, but walking reveals the essence of what is around us. You may just discount that statement as another IWALLK generalization. But, if the RICHNESS of life is to be appreciated by those who understand that "efficiency" is not what we are here to experience in this world - that all of our "conveniences" actually cloud-over and distract us from the immensity of overlooked details - they understand (like no others) that there is no replacement for the slow, steady walk of examination and appreciation.

Making such conscious decisions, using the human WILL, expands consciousness, brightens reality and fills in the gaps that are lost to those in a hurry. Those who value only efficiency, rush toward the end, without ever knowing what they've missed. And, I can tell you as an expert of moving slowly, that too much is missed in this world. Even if YOU can't find these missing bits of the world around you, maybe I can find a few and help you see them as you speed on by.

Interesting. So much for the separation of church and state.

This would be great, but examining their website their minimum amount is $15.00 a month.

It was a good day. I'd done quite a bit. It may not seem to have been edifying to you readers, but when it comes to drinking up as much experience as possible, be assured, there is always something new--every day, sometimes every moment of every day, if you just have the patience and can slow down enough to realize it. If there is anything I have learned being out here that stand above all others, it is this profound fact.