Honeymoon Island…8/25

“The walking and the silence save me. They not only give me the opportunity to slow down to listen and to watch others;they afford me the same opportunity with myself. Silence,  I discover, is not something negative. It is not simply the absence of  speech that happens when I stop talking. Silence is a whole and independent phenomenon, subsisting in and of itself. In the silence, I rediscover who I am.”

  -John Francis

 

Witnessed five very pink Roseate Spoonbills. The air was thick with humidity. A few Ospreys were perched above me in gnarly snags. Hundreds of small crabs hurried past my feet. Prickly-pear fruits were ripe amongst green-leather-like leaves. Not a single person in sight. Horse Flower Mints were in bloom to the delight of colorful butterflies. 

 

 

Planet Walker

 

Planet Walker

 

“While the destination is desirable, the journey and being in the present each moment is the meditation my walking has become. If my goal is to return to the place I have begun, I surmise, I have already left where I want to be and I am already here where I am going. In walking there is a constant sense of place.”                  

- John Francis

Art Loeb Trail

 

View from Art Loeb Trail

I revisited North Carolina and Tennessee recently to visit some relatives of mine.  This photo was taken from the Art Loeb Trail in Pisgah National Forest.

Hiking Pisgah National Forest

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.”

                                                                                                                                                                   -Edward Abbey

 

Sometimes I find great pleasure in  leaving the Land of Flowers behind. I love my home state of Florida but when you climb a mountain your troubles are left behind. On top of a mountain you forget about the silly ways of human society. I love leaving behind the concrete metropolis of Tampa, where the only thing green that thrives are exotic species. Mountains work wonders on some folks. Some people love rivers, some love the beach, I love mountains. In fact I love anything wild, but to paraphrase John Muir mountains speak and wise men listen and when they call you must go. 

This past week I was in North Carolina with a friend of mine. We went into the week with little plans. Our underlying goal was to hike and that is what we did. We hiked numerous trails in Pisgah National Forest. We even climbed to the top of Mt. Mitchell. The time hiking was well spent.