Sunday morning I was cranky. It was cold (in the 30s F) and windy. I’d just discovered my poor peony plant had suffered through our late spring snow a little worse for the wear (it had actually come back after winter, I have been cheering for the little guy.) and while I had sort of committed to a hike with a friend of mine, I was strongly inclined to back out.
Then in comes an annoyingly cheerful text about how the weather looked like it was shaping up to be beautiful, we could hit one of the trails where it would be a little warmer, and then smileys.
Don’t you hate those overly cheerful people when you’re sitting like a crab-cake on the couch?
I bundled up, convinced I was going to be cold. I donned a warm shirt and a fleece over it, headband to warm my ears, gloves for my perpetually cold hands, and a big dose of whining which I was ready to unleash into the world.
He picked up a cranky snail, and we headed out toward one of the local nature preserves to do the 4 mile loop.
On the way, we saw a young mountain lion heading back toward cover of the trees – I think that is my first actual sighting of one of these beauties.
View from the overlook.
Once we hit the trail, I discovered it was indeed a bit warmer there than it had been at home. The sun was out and the sky was a lovely blue with some puffy clouds floating serenely past.
The snow from a few days before had all melted except in a few spots where the sun hadn’t been able to penetrate yet.
In other words, it was lovely.
I felt the sun on my back, the whisper of the breeze in the trees, the blood coursing through my veins and air filling my lungs as we trekked up to the overlook. One one of the neighboring hills, we saw a deer snacking on some of the greenery popping up. (binoculars are amazing, aren’t they?)
Being the cheerful sort that he is, my friend commented on how beautiful it was, how it felt great to get out and into nature, and when I reluctantly agreed, he said “you just need that one, annoying friend who will make you go out anyway.”
He’s absolutely correct.
Had it been left all to me, I’d have camped on the sofa under a blanket catching up on the latest Doctor Who episode.
Then I would have missed the mountain lion, the deer, the first Indian paintbrush I’d seen this spring, and the lovely views that nature so graciously provides.
All it took was that one friend.
If you don’t have one of “those” friends, I suggest expanding your circle and finding one. Someone who will get you up and at it when you don’t want to, and you do the same for them. Someone to point out the beauty that is around you even when you have a dark, crabby cloud hanging over your head.
Your world will be a better – and more active – place because of it.
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