Smilin' Jack: Chapter 30

I am, to be honest, basically a couch potato. I could sit and do nothing for most the day if something good is on the telly. It's not something I'm proud of but, hey, there it is. So, in order to maintain room temperature for a bit longer and to get ready for my imaginary trip to Ireland, I created a semi-real exercise program for myself. And, I've been reasonably diligent about my exercise regimen. It's a hit-or-miss thing, really, but lately I've been hitting over .500 ball doing it and, hey, as everyone knows, that's pro league batting.

The positive thing is, it gives me something to do and gets me out and about. That's a very good combination. Plus, I can always keep telling myself I'm actually doing the training for my Great Éireann (as they say in the Old Irish) Adventure.

Once I start my imaginary trip, I figure that the most I'd have to do for walking is around five miles. Getting around a city or from a hostel to a bus or train station couldn't be more than that. Plus, I figure, the average distance from one village to another is around ten miles...five in the morning and five in the afternoon. It's doable. Plus, and this is a big bonus, I'm pretty sure that as I walk around, I'll be passing a Pub or two where I can stop in, rest my weary bones, ease the pain in my feet and slake my growing thirst with a Smithwick's or a Harp.

Win-Win-Win!!
(with a Win on the side!)

So I gets out and I does me some walkin'. And, while I'm out and about, I takes me an occasional picture or two.

And all that leads to my latest adventure, the Northwest side of the Three Rocks Road. I've went down the Northeast side of this road a few weeks ago and I've been looking forward to completing the whole road with this jaunt. I've traveled down this road maybe 6-8 times, driving the Mini, and I've always felt it had some real potential for a picture or two, Jackie-Style.

Hahaha, and it is long and relatively safe to walk. Not like on The 101 where the traffic can get decidedly heavy at times. Decidedly.

I parked the Mini at the Knight Park parking lot and headed out for a leisurely stroll along this country road. Actually, I was heading in the opposite direction of the picture below.

This shows the entrance to the Park, turning to the left. If I went straight, a dirt road runs up a bit and then, as the sign indicates, peters out.

But this shot gives you an idea of one of the predominant themes for this foray - Green. Lots and lots of green.

And, yeah, lotsa foxglove. All over the place. Honestly, I restrained myself quite well with these. First in the number of pictures of the foxglove that I took and, second, in the number I chose to inflict on you, Dear Reader, in this chapter of my Blog.

You're welcome.

On the south side of the road, the one nearest the Salmon River, there's a lot of marshy land. Lots of small streams, rills, creeks and other water features.

But I was really looking forward to getting some 'Road' pictures, too. Like this one.

There's something about the two-lane hardtop; a black ribbon flanked by white lines and divided by a double-yellow line down the middle. It's neat, it's comfortable, it's a 'known' and, best of all, it takes you on adventures. And I enjoy getting pictures of them.

And I got to see some very pastoral scenes.

Haha, I'm sure it is not ideal place, but just seeing it as it is defined in this photograph gives you a sense of peace and serenity, a calmness.

Good story behind this guy. He's a Western Wood Peewee.

OK, here we go, when I woke up this morning, Carol was posted by the living room window watching a new bird at the feeders. She described him and I was able to get a fleeting shot of him before he disappeared. The one Carol saw was marked by his behavior. He would land by the feeder and then after a moment fly away. Then he would return to the same place. He did this several time. Away and back to the same spot again and again.

Then, on my walk, I spotted this guy. He was sitting a good distance away (love these zoom lenses) and so I couldn't make out all his features. As I was watching him, he flew away and then came back to the same position. Sound familiar? Yeah, and when he did it the third time, I was semi-ready with my camera and got this shot.

When I got back and showed Carol the picture, she quickly pointed out he is the same species as the one we saw at the feeders this morning!!

What a coincidence, eh!?! Pretty amazing!! I mean, this was the first time we'd seen this species in the area and, BAM!! We spot two of them in two different areas.

The shed again. What a great pastoral scene...and green.

Annnnnnnd, some foxgloves.

You can tell it rained the night before and with the low clouds and cool weather, the dew stayed around.

Hahahaha, it was there. I saw it. I tried to catch it. First from the side.

And it was so cool, I shot it twice. Here we see a truncated second shot from the front.

Always the tree fungi. They're everywhere on dead wood. This is one of the most interesting displays I've seen.

"The road is life."

Jack Kerouac

And the road, honestly, gives life to everything it passes. It opens up so many new sides to life. It informs, colors, limits and then makes infinite the life each person lives.

And it permits an old man to wander along the side of the Salmon River as it meanders on down to its destiny...the Pacific Ocean.

The sky was cloudy and the day was pleasantly cool. This meant the rain from the night before and the morning dew stayed around. The shoes got a wee bit wet if you strayed away from the protection of the road.

Yeah, I know. This is a lot of pictures of the North Three Rocks Road. But they are different. Course, the theme is obvious...the road leading on into something. Something not yet defined but, still, there it is, just over the rise; waiting ahead around the corner.

It's a mystery; like life. It has promise. And the promise isn't that things will be better up there...just that it will be different from where you're at right now.

This poor ol' boy tried to cross the road. Not a good idea, evidently.

Just around the corner.

Foxgloves. I couldn't help myself. There were just too many of them to ignore.

So I'm walking along, singing my song when I spot this gate and, to the right, the signs. I was interested and so I stopped to read them.

Let's just say I will make sure I have an invite before I drop in on this guy.

"The long and winding road

that leads to your door.

Will never disappear

I've seen that road before.

It always leads me here,

Leads me to your door."

Sir Paul McCartney, The Beatles

Another set of rural mailboxes and, by golly, two of them are set apart by a canoe. Yeah, someone cut up a canoe and put the end of it over his mailbox.

Classic.

"All life is a foreign country."

Jack Kerouac

Part of the Salmon River Estuary. Once farmlands, it has been reclaimed and is being restored as a wetland. Quite successfully, too.

A real Country Road, or Lane as it were. This small lane leads down to a farmhouse along the estuary. Gives you a comfortable feeling.

Okay, this should be the last shot of mailboxes. Should be. I make no hard promises here but, should be. Still, it's kinda interesting, isn't it?

Someday I'll get the shot I've after.

Another view of the lane taken a bit further up the road.

I'm also gonna get me a good B&W picture someday. This snag was just hanging there and so I shot it. It was an overall gray picture with the sodden sky so I played around with the B&W to see what came of it.

Still groping. Still trying.

No apologies for all these road pictures. I think they're interesting and, to a small degree artistic. A bit. I had a lot of turns to shoot at. A lot of opportunities,

Remember when you'd blow as hard as you could while wishing on a dandelion? Someone would have gotten their wish with this Bad Boy.

Nearing the end of the walk, I spotted these Three Amigos sitting in a tree. It had started drizzling, a pretty good drizzle, for the last mile of my walk. My feet were talking to me and not in a nice way. I was getting eager to finish the walk when I came on these guys.

I think they are three turkey vultures, sitting in a tree waiting out the wet weather. Oh, the things you'll see if you get out and about.

Then I saw the end. It was in sight. There, just ahead where the road bends gently to the left was Knight Park and the Mini.

Hallelujah!!

The odd thing is that I've been walking for a while but I don't feel like I'm improving. If anything, I feel like I am going backwards as far as being in shape.

Who cares!?! I could see the end and I set my course for it.

But then I got distracted. It was a momentary lapse while I cracked off a few more shots.

And one last look at the shed in the field. Nice.

OK, so I finished the walk and it was good. My legs were a bit achey and my feet were screaming at me but it was worthwhile...and it was fun.

Sometimes though, I don't realize how much fun I was having until I'm back in the recliner at Fort Living Room.

A day later I was off to see if they'd replaced the missing Quest Box. Remember I went on two Quests the other day and couldn't find either Quest Box? Well, the one was just very well hidden. Once I had an idea of its location in relation to the stairs it was fairly simple to find. And I did. I also made a couple suggestions to Cait, the woman who runs the Quest Program, about being just a bit more specific with their directions. Like, it was good to know it was opposite the 'third' step. Then it wasn't along side the stairs but about a foot and a half up and into the plants. That would have been helpful to know, too.

So I got my stamp and then headed over to the second failed Quest, the Taft Stormwater Drain Quest. It's over by the elementary school which is just across from the high school where a mating pair of Ospreys have there nest atop one of the field light poles. So we always look when we can.

And we spotted this guy. For some reason, he wasn't in the nest but hanging out on a different light pole.

While this photo looks dreary, the day wasn't this bad. It was just a blip on the screen. Most o the day was nice.

Turns out the Quest Box for this Quest was missing. Cait replaced it and, at my suggestion, cut back some of the blackberry plants around the post. Hey, they scratch!!

Cait had e-mailed me and told me she'd replaced the box and cleared the area so I was pleased to be able to find the doggone Quest Box this time. Let's just say I was more than a little frustrated when I could find the Quest Box for the second time that day.

And now I am up to date!! Woo, woo!!

Yeah, OK, I admit I'm a little anal retentive. OK, a lot. But it bugged me that I completed the Quest but didn't get the stamp and so I came back for it as soon as I could.

And, yeah, I feel better. And I only need four more stamps and I get the Quest Patch!! Woo, woo!! More stuff to put into a box somewhere. But, dammit, I will have that patch.

Hahaha, I rock!!

I just realized, I haven't been down to the beach in several months. Plus, I haven't been out to watch the sunset in a couple months, either!!

When I went out to catch the beautiful light, I was surprised to see the sun setting so far to the north. What the...!?!?!

I think I need to pay more attention.

I climbed up to the bluff and got this shot looking north up the bach. See the pole to the right? A couple had moved some logs around and made a fire pit and were enjoying the evening on the beach.