Skip to main content

Chilly morning

Photo by: Tim Bindner

I started today off early. I woke up at 6 am, ate breakfast and headed to the trail by 7:30am. I needed this hike today.

The parking lot was empty. My temperature gauge read 19 degrees as the sun was lighting up the sky. I parked, grabbed my stuff, and headed down the path towards the lake. My mind, as usual, was racing, and I looked to slow it down. I had my new camera around my neck and my eyes began scanning my surroundings for pictures to take. There is always something to shoot, but going to a familiar place often causes me to be complacent and for go pictures I have already taken. This is, however, my therapy, so I trudged on.

I reached the end of the pavement and move east towards the wooden bridge and eventually the path. As I skirted the lake, I was startled by a squirrel who was also startled by me. He was on the side of a large tree and then ran across my path, turned, ran back towards the tree, then disappeared up it. As I walked by, I told him, “You scared me dude”, and I proceeded on.

I decided today I would go a different route than I normally do. This location has a few paths, but I could still mix it up a bit. As I ventured deeper into the woods, I could hear gunshots in the distance. It was deer hunting season, but I was safely on private land, where no hunting was allowed.

As I proceeded deeper into the woods, the sun began peeking through the trees and lighting up the surrounding hills and treetops. I could also feel the warmth of the sun when it hit my face. I soon shed my hat, then my gloves, and finally unzipped my coat. The phone said it was 22 degrees, but my body was overheating.

I took a few pictures along the route, and the noise in my head quieted down. The woods served their purpose for me today. I was happy to be alone in the woods today.

I spotted two deer staring at me briefly before dashing off into the woods; I saw a few squirrels, and even some birds, but no people. The shadows danced off the trees and the cool air filled my lungs. It was a cleansing of sorts for me. I knew soon I would be back to my life and all the constant worries I have floating in my head, but for 90 minutes I was able to significantly quiet the noise.

Until next time.

Tim (Kilmer)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Love to get your feedback on what you read!

Popular posts from this blog

Rocky Ridge/Breeden Ridge Trail

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography Today I met my buddy Mark at O’ Bannon Woods State Park for a hike.  In this Coronavirus terrifying world, I needed to get out. My week had not been going so well.  I got some surprises at work that changed how future projects will go for me and I was bombarded by daily messages of doom about the Corona Virus.  I was looking forward to the weekend because I had two hikes planned.  This is the only one that happened. After a two day headache (Friday and Saturday) I was able to get out and hike.  I met Mark at the campground in O’ Bannon Woods and we set off on the Rocky Ridge Trail.  This is the trail we had planned on hiking a few weekends ago but it ended quickly when the forecasted 30% of rain became 100% sleet. The trail this time was still muddy but as I could tell by the campground area we would be alone.  As my boots slushed through the mud I watched from behind as Mark often caught a tree root or rock with the toe of his boot, sending...
Post a Comment
Read more

Conformity !

Photo by: Tim Bindner In today’s post, I want to discuss something that has been on my mind for quite a while. I don’t have any solutions, but often just voicing my thoughts helps me be a little more at ease. Conformity is something we all must do. It is put on us by work, society, the government, family, loved ones and even friends. Sometimes it is easy to recognize, other times it is so hidden or repeated we don’t even realize it. Marcie and I were driving home yesterday through New Albany, Indiana, and we saw a motorcycle in front of us. First, let me say I was not being judgmental of this guy, but I pointed out some things that were obvious, or maybe not so much to my wife. This guy was in his 30’s I’d say. He was riding a Harley, wearing faded blue jeans and old cowboy boots (black, of course), and had a t-shirt on with his motorcycle club name and a logo with some sort of assault rifle on it. He had a black baseball cap on backwards with a flat bill on it. He also adjusted his t-...
Post a Comment
Read more

True Friends - Part 2

My luck might be turning for the better.  At least in the short term. Out of the blue Wednesday, I got a text from a dear friend asking if we could have lunch Thursday.  As I had to work, I had to decline but he followed up with “what time you get off?”  So we scheduled an early dinner to meet.  I was excited and a bit nervous, as I was not sure why he wanted to meet. Shawn is a lifelong friend who I wrote about in a previous blog .  We have known each other since we were kids.  He is like a brother to me.  Throughout our lives, we have taken different paths and have gone years without speaking due to kids, wives, and careers, but when we do get together it is like nothing has changed. We met at Cracker Barrel, and as is always the case I arrived early.  I sat down and starting thinking about how we met, the many times we spent together and some of the crazy adventures we had been upon.  Shawn has been in my life for 36 years. Soon he arrived, sat down and we began talking. ...
Post a Comment
Read more