atoms into suns

It'd been too long since I just hopped in the car, found a trailhead, and started walking, so we did just that.

In the space of a couple hours, we threw pebbles in the water, played Poohsticks, learned a bit about the cycle of life and death while looking at a huge cottonwood tree that had fallen over, and speculated on what caused it to fall. We watched horses and bikes and runners and walkers and prairie dogs and birds.

I greeted a woman walking along. She was friendly enough, but barely said hello. As she went past, I noticed something looped in her hand like a leash, but she didn't have a dog. I looked closer and saw tassels and beads and finally realized they were prayer beads. I made a mental note to be as quiet as I could when we passed her wherever she decided to stop. It wasn't until later that it occurred to me that she was doing her prayer/meditation while she walked.

And when we got back to the parking lot, we learned that one should never park under a tree full of birds.

Footnote:
Is it just me, or do these guys take Poohsticks way too seriously? And an official World Poohsticks Championship? (Today, even!) Come on.