I am going for a long walk without camera in hand. Do you want to come along? I feel compelled. I feel drawn as I walk on , the cool breeze caressing my face, and my hair is tossed here and there. It gives me a sense of freedom. Not a worry or care as I walk on.
I see green blowing in the wind and clouds of various contrast scurrying by up above. The trees are whispering as the wind slithered through their leaves and branches. I hear the sound of my feet hitting the hard concrete sidewalk as I walk. There are kids sitting in the school yard as I pass by, laughing and having fun. Makes me think back to when I was that age. I hear and see the faces of my friends of my youth in my memory as I stroll by. As I look to my left I see cars speeding by and hear the sounds of busyness all around me.
I am now entering Memorial Park and hear silence as I sit but for a moment on a park bench. I am looking around and I see large memorial stones with names of those who served our Country in time of war and who died fighting for freedom. I see wreaths of poppies and crosses and the words carved in stone that read, “Lest We Forget”. I have a moment of silence and pray for their families and those who this day are fighting for our freedom and others. God be mindful of them and their families. I thank God for them and I thank God for the freedom I have in this great Country of Canada . I thank God for the freedom I have through His Son, Jesus Christ who laid down His life for all mankind. I am now leaving this place with the pond in sight.
I hear the sound of sand and stones beneath my feet as I enter this peaceful and calm sanctuary. Oh , I could stay here for hours but today only for a little while. I see green everywhere, green, even the pond is green with Lilly pads and life. Birds singing, butterflies fluttering, Dragonflies hovering over the marsh; and me with no camera, but I feel such peace and I am smiling with contentment. I love the solitude of this place. The warmth of the sun wrapping itself around me and the warmth of God’s Son as I feel His presence so near. I pause and savour the moment as I once again sit long enough to write. I am now overlooking the river. I see cattails , wildflowers and bees. There is too much to describe and I must move on.
I am following the river along the path. There is a conflict between the sounds of nature and the sounds of busyness of the city I live in. I choose to listen to the rushing river and it soothes my soul.
The storm clouds are moving in . Isn’t that part of life. I will carry on my walk as long as I can. I am walking against the wind and feel the concrete beneath my feet as I continue on the path. The river and nature is on my right and the noise and traffic of the city is on my left. I am following the river as it races down stream. There is a family of ducks with three baby chicks resting on a rock down below. I stop to admire their beauty and once again I smile.
There are blue skies ahead of me now and grey clouds above and behind me as I move on down the trail. Ah the sun just peaked through the dark clouds. There is hope as I continue as I walk under the bridge. There is light and shades of grey and darkness. I love the sound of the rushing water. The sun is starting to break up the darkness up above.
A Blue Heron just caught a fish and again I am smiling as I take a mental picture that will linger in my memory . I am loving this.
I look to my left and I see city architecture of condos , stores and church steeples. As I stop to write I see a Blue Damsel flying by and it landed on a rock at my feet. There are people walking and talking, biking and rollerblading and such. I smile and some of them smile back. There are a few people fishing as I continue on.
I looked up once again and this time I see a ring around the sun that looks like a partial rainbow and a huge dark cloud passing by and once again it is sunny.I think the storm clouds went around me. It is extremely dark to my left as I walk along the path and down town is on my left side as I follow the river along the path that leads to the Bay of Quinte’s south side, across from City Hall. Those of you who have read my blogs and seen my photos over the last year may have an idea where I am on the trail as I describe my walk on this day. Beauty surrounds me as I see flowers galore and exotic grasses planted by city workers.
I stop to watch the ducks flying by and landing in the water. The dark clouds are all over the city to the east as I am on the west side traveling south. I look down and see the water lilies lying next to peoples litter. That saddens me as I look and see a garbage can in plain view. I see roses and all kinds of coloured lilies and a transport truck on the bridge up above where I fell just a couple of weeks ago while riding my bike. Instead of going over the bridge , I am going under it.
I have reached the Bay where the river and it emerges and am now at the Harbour. There are ripples in the channel forming waves and now the storm clouds surround me but every once in awhile the sun shines through. There is now a very strong northwest wind as I move on. There are many boats in the harbour and I hear all kinds of tinkering sounds as they are blown in the wind. The church bells are ringing, I hear sirens and a plane just flew over. I hear birds singing the wind blowing as the sounds merge between nature and that of the city.
Oh my oh my, I see another duck family with 4 cute little baby chicks and yes part of me wishes I had my camera but it was not meant to be . You ask me , where am I going with all of this ? I don’t know, it is just something I felt I needed to do. Maybe it is my way of getting away from it all. I just don’t know but I am enjoying it emencly. I look around and see, hear,feel and smell all the beauty that surrounds me and it is good to be alive.
I look around and see many Canadian flags here today in my travels and it makes me smile as I love my Country and yes I am a proud Canadian.
I am off the main trail heading south on the side walk toward the Bayshore trail and when I get to the path I will be walking east. I hear a train as I walk by the Boathouse Restaurant which has the best fish and chip in town. I can smell it and almost taste it. If I look back , I can see the city and if I look ahead I can see the pier by the bay.
Once again I am surrounded by dark clouds and begin to wonder if I will escape a storm. Just then the sun peaks through as if watching over me.
What I see and hear next is not pleasant. They are working on a new building project and have cut down many trees near the waterfront and all I can hear is loud , intruding sounds of men at work with their drills and heavy equipment. There is a hill of dirt that obstructs my view of the Bay. I will continue on until I can reach the water front trail that I enjoy so much.
I am starting to tire as I take a quick break overlooking the Beautiful Bay Of Quinte. This is where I like to bring my mom . This is where she took my profile picture on my space. I have so many happy memories here of family picnics ,etc. I think of my dad who will never be able to drive down here again as he isn’t well . I must keep going.
I just called my wonderful husband so he won’t worry about me as I have now been walking for two and a half hours. I am not sure how much further I will go. Maybe I will just stop and be quiet and think for awhile. Well it is getting darker and the wind is picking up but wait as I look up there is a silver lining and the sun comes out but once again.
I see a turtle sitting on a log , looking up as if praising its Maker. He doesn’t seem the least bit concerned that I was only a few feet away from him. I am in such a peaceful place here on the trail. It is as if the trees are watching over me and sheltering me from the wind and the sun is following me and looking over my shoulder once again. I am going to go a little further and turn north and head home. My sweet man is working on supper and I am getting hungry. I need to taste something and then I will have put all the senses God has given me to good use.
As I walk along the trail with the trees on both sides of me the water on the shore is calm . As I look our further the water is dark and rough , not a boat in sight.
I have reached “The Pond” across from the Bay where I have taken so many of my photos from season to season. Strait ahead of me is the bench that is my Special Place, where I have taken so many of my Sunrise Pictures. I love to sit there and reflect and that is where I will end by days journey and then head home.
I just looked up and behind me and the sky looks like it is ready to fall. I need to get out of here and hope and pray I make it home. I am walking quickly through the streets going north and it will take me at least a half hour to get home.
I am now almost home . I thought sure I was going to be caught in the middle of a thunderstorm but it kept going east as I was heading north and now the sun has once again come shining through the clouds. Thank you Jesus for watching over me and being with me each step of the way today and everyday. I feel safe and know that God has been with me all the time.
I am now just five minutes from my home and a thought has come to me. The big scary clouds came over my calm , peaceful place on the bench because I wasn’t meant to stay there. I need to move on and live my life each day, trusting in God through the threats of the storms of life ; and at times I will be in the midst of the storms of life, I must live my life trusting in the Giver Of Life. I must live my life by Faith and not by sight. One day I will see Him , The Giver Of Life but for now I must live my life , for it is a gift to love and cherish and be thankful for .
I am now home and it is here that I close after walking for three and a half hours. Thank you for walking with me this day Lord Jesus and thank you you all who decided to take this long walk with me today. It took me almost as long to type this out. :)
In closing I just want you to know that I took this long walk a little over a week ago and just got around to sharing it with you this day. Hope you enjoyed it,
Love and Hugs to all who walked with me this day. If you read this you truly are my friend for this is long and I am not a writer of sorts.Thank you windows live writer for being my editor.
Dianne (dsphotocats) :)
