I think happy thoughts EVERY time I pass by this tree stump at the local open space (aka “the ranch”). I did the majority of my marathon training here when we lived a few cities over from where we now live. The trails are well groomed, the surroundings are lush, and the hills are steep.
It’s been a while since I last visited but theMAN and I decided to change it up and do our weekend hike here instead of closer to home. It was a nice change. Due to the amount of rain and the base soil (I am guessing) the trails at our local open space seem to have taken a more severe toll near home. At the ranch, the trails were mostly dry and the path was still relatively smooth in contrast to our usual trekking spot where they are similar to the rough and choppy surface of photos of the moon which I’ve seen. The payback was that the hard ground was not as forgiving to the legs.
This tree stump is on the valley floor where the crowds are heavy and families with young kiddies can walk to a little working farm to see the farm animals who have emerged into the world in the past couple of months. Often, kids are playing on it: climbing on it and hiding inside the middle of it. The surfaces (sides and top edge) are smooth to touch from the little, and big, hands always touching it.
The tree is like the giving tree in one of my most favorite children’s book. It gives freely without expectation. It never asks when I will be back to visit and always brings a smile to my face when we meet up again. [Read more…]