Fall Hike ... October

Last year, I managed to somehow MISS going out on a hike when colors were at their peak. I wasn't ABOUT to let that happen AGAIN! So ... this year, I made my way out to Grand Mere with the dogs ... racing the dying sunlight! (Rain was moving in ...) And I did it! Or rather, GOD did it ... and I was able to enjoy a sun-dappled afternoon; marveling at the colors of the trees and collecting beach glass. Life has been a bit rocky for me lately ... as I was recently diagnosed with a form of pallendromic/rheumatoid arthritis and tested positive for lupus (which, thankfully, is not "presenting" right now) ... not to mention that I've had an ear infection for 2 months. It's been a little crazy--but my family has been so supportive. I posted this, shortly after, on Facebook: "I don’t go into the woods to escape. I go into the woods to get the crazy loud jumble of modern madness to stop shrieking in my brain. To fit my foot upon a sandy, root-strewn path and have THAT be the biggest obstacle I need to figure out for the afternoon. To forget my human trappings which ache or hurt or need to see two more doctors, and put my hand on the side of a tree and feel the warmth from the rough bark soaking into my palm. To still the spinning compass needle—talk to my creator as face-to-face as we can be, and groan and vent and marvel and … oh look at that … THERE I am. There is my compass setting—perfectly clear in front of me. Here is where I am, and here are all my relationships, as clear as the water on the smooth rocks at my feet. And here also, is my world, settling back down around my shoulders in a quiet way that makes me want to lean into it—at peace."