David couldn’t make it today, but I walked
the upper end loop of Lake Sacajawea anyway:
Sacajawea statue; Lake’s namesake. I started my walk at this statue.
I am determined to stay active, shed pounds,
and live independently in our home as long as I can.
As soon as I exited my car, I saw the beginning
of the ‘Go 4th’ weekend setup:
Entertainment tents.
Then I walked across the metal bridge, crossing
the Lake. As I crossed this bridge, my thoughts went back in time. Bob always
liked coming here to the Lake, but our Pomeranian Tyson, and our wolf Precious,
hated crossing this metal bridge. Their toe nails made noisy click-click-click
sounds and they acted like it hurt their ears: we avoided this bridge when we
walked them here at the Lake. But they are walking the streets of Heaven now
with Bob, so I didn’t mind starting my walk here this morning …
The gray clouds parted enough to allow a
little bit of blue sky to peek through:
The squirrels were little furry beggars and I
felt guilty that I had forgotten to load my pockets with peanuts before I locked
the car. I must remember to do that next week …
Saw lots of geese squatting, waddling, and
flexing their wings/necks while they hunkered around the Lake’s edge:
They look peaceful, but they can become honking, hissing, missiles of terror when the mood strikes them.
Glancing across the Lake and watching
walkers/joggers make their final laps around the loop – where I will be in
about 45 minutes time – I couldn’t help remembering that it was there; across the way, 45 years
ago, that Bob and I stopped with our 1 month old daughter to enjoy a summer
afternoon … and the stroller brakes did not hold! We had just set the back
wheel brakes, and sat down on the grass when the stroller started rolling;
picking up speed on the down slope. Stacey would have rolled right into the lake
but for Bob’s speed, long legs, and long arms.
Every time I pass that spot, either on this side
of the Lake, or on the opposite side, that memory pops into my thoughts.
It was a brand-new stroller; we should not have been given the fright of our lives
…
I will make my final lap today, on that path on the opposite side of the Lake, heading back towards my car.
The walking path I am on comes to a junction
just a few feet ahead; I can either continue forward and cross the street, or I
can take the underpass spur and walk along the lake.
I chose the lakeside path that goes under the
overpass.
And watch a city worker clip the grass for
the holiday festivities, which will begin this weekend (http://gofourthfestival.org/event/). Not sure if I
will be attending any of the events or not this year.
It still seems very strange to me to be doing anything social without Bob beside me:
It still seems very strange to me to be doing anything social without Bob beside me:
Lakeside path meanders underneath the overhead roadway.
The lakeside path may not be so pretty, but it is peaceful – even with the non-stop traffic overhead.
I also decided to take another spur off the
main trail, and visit the Weyerhaeuser Japanese Garden area. It’s been a while
since I have been there. Pets are not allowed in the garden, so it has been
a very long time since I have visited the Japanese Garden. Precious, our
last furry companion, went to the Happy Hunting Grounds 5 years ago, but Bob
and I were so busy living the retired life – and then buying/setting up our
home at Heron Pointe, that a visit to the Lake was sporadic and quick. But this
morning I made time for this garden reconnect.
I still have a hard time wrapping my mind
around Bob’s graduation just 6 short years after his retirement. It is hard not
to give into the bitterness when my mind starts thinking that we moved to Heron
Pointe to get away from stressors – and unknowingly found ourselves embroiled
in highly stressful situations with 2 egomaniac morons that do not understand boundaries
or have moral consciousness’. Bob SHOULD BE HERE WITH ME TODAY. Yep; very
hard not to give into bitterness.
So, I am going to walk through those Garden
doors and let the tranquility of the moment envelop me …
Heading towards the Weyerhaeuser Japanese Garden.
Interesting artistic appeal.
I always feel like I am entering a secret garden when I cross this bridge.
I like the low-laying rock walls along the pathway.
Rules posted again – just in case they were missed at the entrance doors.
I spotted a broken twig with moss attached to it, so I picked it up and carried it home with me to put in my garden birdbath, for butterflies to rest on.
Kessler Blvd. seen from the Japanese Gardens. Kessler leads to Ocean Beach Hwy: the end of the upper end loop path; there I will make a turn onto Nichols Blvd., back towards my car.
Ocean Beach Hwy. in the distance.
A Pouring 3-tier Bamboo Fountain made a quiet tinkling sound.
I like the sound of this bubbling stream that flows from the Pouring 3-tier Bamboo Fountain to drain into the Lake; on a continuous water flow.
I like stands of bamboo. But it is very invasive, and there are shoots of it creeping into the pathways.
Asian Pergola.
That little jaunt was refreshing :-D
Leaving the Japanese Garden and resuming my
upper end walk, I noticed someone fishing the Lake:
And making the corner off Kessler to stroll
alongside Ocean Beach Highway before cutting onto Nichols, I saw a lazily
swimming duck and some pretty little purple flowers (probably just weed;
LOL) perking up the scorched-earth-browned-grass; as well as the backside of
the Japanese Garden …
The Evergreen State is not so green this year; it has been a very dry year.
The backside of the Japanese Garden, seen from Nichols Blvd. loop.
Right about here, on Nichols Blvd., across
from the Japanese Garden on the opposite side of the Lake, I felt a few light
drops of rainfall; but it was brief, which was a good thing because my car is
parked quite a way yet down the street.
Continuing on, my peripheral vision caught
sight of a hefty conk on a tree trunk. And my forward vision caught sight of the
gray clouds scuttling across the overhead sky to shut the blue sky out. While I
was watching that unfold, a little old lady stopped to chat with me, asking me
if I had seen last night’s rainbow. I said I had; she told me that she saw a double
rainbow, and I said that that was a lucky thing – double rainbows are pretty
rare. Although Bob and I saw a triple rainbow one time (that was pretty cool!). Then, she tagged the
lamp post and we shared a chuckle at that action (Bob & I used to do
that too), before she started back the way she came; at a pretty good clip
for someone her age:
My ‘friendly little old lady’ who stopped to chat with me, in the white hat.
I resumed my walk at a more leisurely pace (have to consider the angina and environmental asthma aspects of my health). I
have always struggled with angina – ever since I can remember – so clogged
arteries, is not my issue; with me, it is a variant birth defect. The
environmental asthma I picked up after moving to Longview in 1995: darned
near killed me until my lungs kinda acclimated to the poor air quality here
in Longview. I occasionally utilize inhalers, but I try to steer clear of using
them unless absolutely necessary. Steroid anger issues I do NOT NEED on top
of everything else I have to deal with. Basically, I tend to pace myself
and pay attention to my body when it sends signals to me.
Coming out from under the overpass, I saw
waterlilies blooming. But they are only opened half way because of the cloudy
sky overhead, which is blocking the sunlight they need to fully open up …
I like this upper end loop walk because it is
a full body workout. Walking the middle and lower end loop around the Lake is flatter
terrain, and less challenging. And for the time being, I need the challenge:
Uphill climb leaving the underpass.
I freely admit I was struggling with shortness of breath at the top of the trail, but I refused to sit on that bench. It is much easier for me to relax standing up, and easier to get moving again after a short rest.
After about a 5-minute rest, I started
walking again, and noticed the grass had been spray painted with plot numbers
marking off sections to be used by various vendors during the ‘Go 4th’
festivities. ALL of the grass from this point on, to my parked car a bit
further down the boulevard. From here, off to my left, I could see the
entertainment tents I saw at the beginning of my walk, so the end is very near.
And off to my right, I can see RAL High School, where our granddaughter went 3
years of her High School years. And just before I reached my car, I picked up
another mossy twig to pack home …
From here to my car, I counted 100 marked placements just this side of the Lake – there will be more on the opposite side.
Tail end of my morning walk. From here, I can see the tents and bridge where I started from.
RAL High School; our grand-daughter, Alyna went 3 of her 4 HS years here; and was on the Dean's List with a steady 4.0 running every year. I credit Home Education for that: Bob & I home educated her from Pre-school until Junior High. We are very strong advocates for Home Education. It breaks my heart that our 5 year old grandson, Alyna's little brother, will be a public schooled child.
Back home, driving the back-street loop
behind our home, I saw a new ‘For Sale’ sign had been put up while I was gone
this morning; and a moving van was parked in front of the following house. That
makes a count of 10 houses posted since Spring this year, ON TOP OF HALF
the tenants that picked up and moved after Candy became manager 2 years ago:
After I parked the car in our carport, I thought I would
check the rain barrels to see if they filled after last night’s rainstorm.
((((YES!))))
Praise Elohim!
Barrel #1: Not a lot of runoff water in this particular barrel ... but at least it IS filling. And that is encouraging!
YES! Now I know what to do next year ;-) This year has been all about the learning curve ...
Barrel #2: HALLELUJAH! A ‘full-to-the-brim’ barrel! Thank YOU, Yeshua; thank you, Mike :-D
Barrel #3: Not all the way full, but it is fuller than it was before Mike switched the downspout thingee. I’m happy.
Barrel #4: REALLY PLEASED - now I can stop using the crappy city water on my garden veggies.
Feeling like I have finally caught a break, I
thanked Mike for fixing the downspout issue for me last time he and Cheryl were
here; laid the broken twigs in my birdbath, and I did a quick garden walkabout;
noticing I have pretty purple blossoms on my Purple Romano Bean plants :-)
I had to break the twigs down a bit to fit them into the birdbath; the butterflies will appreciate them.
Pretty, purple blossoms on my Romano bean plants.
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