We have a cat and a dog, and they are good pets. Oftentimes needy, but definitely good. I also have a third pet. One that is all mine and one that is never more than 3 inches from me. I suppose I should be thankful that he's extended his distance that much, as previously we've just been connected. His name is Bernie and he is a giant elephant.
Bernie is big. Bernie is bossy. Bernie likes to sit on my chest. Bernie also changes color depending on his mood. And since he sits on my chest most of the time, his color greatly affects mine. When he is bright red and angry, I can feel my temperature rising. When he is blue and sad, so am I. When he is bright and green, I want to ask about things I know I shouldn't and I push lots of buttons. When he is yellow, I am calm. When he is pink, I am filled with ADD and jumping around like a five year-old. He is rarely gray and he rarely lets me sleep.
Sometimes I run as fast as I can to get away from Bernie, but he keeps catching me. So I take great pleasure in the moments where he steps far enough away so that I can breathe and just simply be.
Iona my dear, bite the elephant. Bite him hard so that he goes away. Go away, Bernie. Go away.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
This Is Why I Am Here
I fell a little in love with North Carolina today.
Sunny, warm, clear and spectacular...the weather just begged to be used, to be enjoyed. I sat out on the front porch with coffee and then Michael and I headed out to the American Tobacco Trail (ATT). This is a "rails-to-trails" project which spans over 22 miles through Durham, Chatham and Wake counties. it is a wonderfully flat stretch of trail that is both paved and gravel and has interesting scenery - both in plant and human form.
I had to look up the history and discovered that the ATT is an abandoned railroad bed originally built for the American Tobacco Company. J.B. Duke founded the company in 1890 and the rail lines served his processing plants and warehouses in Durham. They started laying the tracks in 1905 and they were used until the 1970s when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Jordon Lake reservoir and the tracks needed to be relocated. It appears that the ATT was developed in 1992 and continues to be expanded. I love local history and I now love the ATT.
We started at the White Church Road lot and biked north for about 5 miles until we ran out of paved surface, (they are finishing a middle section that is currently being regraded), biked back to the lot and then decided to go another 6 miles to the trailhead. That of course meant we needed to come back another 6, totalling 21.8 miles.
I then spent a portion of the afternoon outside with Iona until I realized my library books were due. So we threw them in the corgi buggy and ran up to the Cameron Village library. I can't say that Iona was very pleased about the experience, as she hates to share her buggy space.
She chilled a bit after the books were returned and she was able to get petted a few times by strangers. We then collapsed in our hammock after the run. As the sun was disappearing behind the house next door, we finally decided it was OK to go inside. Sigh, good Sunday. Now Sunday is done.
Sunny, warm, clear and spectacular...the weather just begged to be used, to be enjoyed. I sat out on the front porch with coffee and then Michael and I headed out to the American Tobacco Trail (ATT). This is a "rails-to-trails" project which spans over 22 miles through Durham, Chatham and Wake counties. it is a wonderfully flat stretch of trail that is both paved and gravel and has interesting scenery - both in plant and human form.
I had to look up the history and discovered that the ATT is an abandoned railroad bed originally built for the American Tobacco Company. J.B. Duke founded the company in 1890 and the rail lines served his processing plants and warehouses in Durham. They started laying the tracks in 1905 and they were used until the 1970s when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Jordon Lake reservoir and the tracks needed to be relocated. It appears that the ATT was developed in 1992 and continues to be expanded. I love local history and I now love the ATT.
We started at the White Church Road lot and biked north for about 5 miles until we ran out of paved surface, (they are finishing a middle section that is currently being regraded), biked back to the lot and then decided to go another 6 miles to the trailhead. That of course meant we needed to come back another 6, totalling 21.8 miles.
I then spent a portion of the afternoon outside with Iona until I realized my library books were due. So we threw them in the corgi buggy and ran up to the Cameron Village library. I can't say that Iona was very pleased about the experience, as she hates to share her buggy space.
She chilled a bit after the books were returned and she was able to get petted a few times by strangers. We then collapsed in our hammock after the run. As the sun was disappearing behind the house next door, we finally decided it was OK to go inside. Sigh, good Sunday. Now Sunday is done.
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