Out and About

The other day, I was feeling a sense of uneasiness and restlessness. That's what happens when you contemplate the meaning of life and your place in it. Nothing bad is happening here. In fact, life is good, but a wandering, anxious mind can forget that sometimes. We didn't have anything on the schedule except chores, so I told Ward I needed a change of pace and that we should go exploring. After a bit of a discussion about weather and traffic, we chose to go to a nearby town we had never been to, just to see what it was about. 

We set out on a cloudy day and drove back roads through the rolling countryside of farms and trees. The roadsides were filled with white dogwoods and pink redbuds in bloom. And beneath them, we saw patches of bright yellow bittercress. The variety and brightness of the landscape brightened my mood, even though the sun stayed stubbornly behind the clouds.

The street corners in the first town were flanked with these heavy iron bells. 

We stopped in the first town we came to, even though it was not our destination. We drove around a bit and then parked and took a walk through town. The town was small, and many houses looked to be of the Civil War era or older. Several showed decades of neglect, but we found them interesting. The wind kicked up, and I was cold, so we returned to the car. Ward noticed a town park on the map, so that was our next destination.

The park consisted of ballfields, a tennis court, and a path winding around a spent cornfield. After amusingly watching a school group playing on the ballfield, we set out on another walk, hoping the wind had died down. Our path was mowed through grass and weeds around the cornfield. The other side of the path had a small swath of trees next to a road. And when I say weeds, what I really meant this day was wildflowers. Once again, bright yellow and white blooms distracted me from my busy thoughts.

Following the walk, we drove on to our destination of the day. This town had many of the same elements as the last one we left but seemed a little larger and better off. My stomach was rumbling, so every diner we passed on Main Street seemed like a good place to stop for lunch. We chose the one we could park right in front of and wandered in. After listening to the locals' conversations while eating, we headed out to take a walk around town. However, the clouds had another idea. Large raindrops were falling and coming faster and faster. It seemed like a good time to head home.

We arrived home, happy with our outing, and began some of the morning's neglected chores.

I have been reflecting on our little jaunt. It didn't look great on paper. We didn't go far. We didn't see fancy architecture, houses, or museums. We didn't hike beautiful paths through the woods. But it was an enjoyable excursion all the same, and it reminded me that everywhere has something to offer if you just take the time to look for it.

Here are more pictures from our outing.

Honeysuckle

Garlic mustard

Bittercress

Dandelions

Buttercups

Fleabane daisy

Vertebrae

Deer hoof print

Until next time...