When I'm home on a weekend, it gives me great pleasure to wake up early in the morning and have a hike. It’s easy to skip across the street to the hills above my house. By now, I've covered the pathways so many times that I have the timing dialed, at least on most of the routes. Much of the time when I hit the trail, there’s an audiobook streaming from my phone or a friend is chattering in my ear. This morning was different though. When I stepped into the 45˚F morning air, I left my doorstep without my digital umbilical cord. As I crushed dirt under my sneakers, I absorbed the natural world around me. The first thing that struck me was the smell. Scents here are powerful after a rainstorm. The rain seems to release the fragrance of the earth.
“Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.”
― Roger Miller
Much of my youth was spent out of doors, cruising around with my after school pals. The rainy scents, mixed with the soil of the Bay Area, transport me back to those days. Days where finding a new shortcut through Mill Valley's mountainous neighborhoods, compared only to discovering a new climbing tree. I remember rainy day recesses and puddle stomping with my tall rubber boots. There were damp horseback rides in the headlands and heavily scented strolls through Muir Woods.
On this morning, I gathered the aroma around me like a soft blanket. It's refreshing to inhale hydrated California and have an excursion down memory lane. Hope the weather keeps this up.
On this morning, I gathered the aroma around me like a soft blanket. It's refreshing to inhale hydrated California and have an excursion down memory lane. Hope the weather keeps this up.
“I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.”
― Maya Angelou