Three or four times a week I meet with a group of women and we power walk - although sometimes its a dawdle and chat - over, above and through the exquisite
Big Morongo Canyon Preserve near my home. For about an hour and a half we climb up steep hills, scale rocky ridges, jog down the hills and finish off with a lovely half mile or so of flat through the lush shady canopy finishing back where we started.
We have great camaraderie. We laugh, we tease, we tell off-colour jokes, we support and encourage each other, and we even have prayer circles occasionally when someone needs an extra boost, and all the while we are getting fitter and stronger.
Occasionally I'm especially lucky: I get to go home, grab breakfast, then load up my camera and come back to the same park. This time I am alone and can tune in to the beauty around me and here the whisperings of the trees and flowers. I can get down on my belly and really visit with the tiny but beautiful little flowers that line the trail.
I am so fortunate to have the balance to the vibrant energy of my hiking girls and the introspective energy of my camera, myself and nature.
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| Stream Orchid (Epipactus Gigantea) |
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| Stream Orchid |
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| Mallow |
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| Yerba Mansa |
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| Yerba Mansa |
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| lichen on quartz rock |
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| Hedgehog Cactus |
Today my message from the World, through my lens, to me was all about balance. The Yin and the Yang. I also got to appreciate once again just how fortunate I am.
Linking to
Nature Notes at Rambling Woods
3 comments:
I love this idea of a hiking group..of course I would be in the "slow walk and stop to rest" group..but it is wonderful to share your love of nature with other.. great post for Nature Notes..Michelle
Great scenery and flowers. So different from here in Florida.Florida is flat. The vegetation is so dense toy can barely step off the trail.
Beautiful flowers!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.
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