A Walk Here and There

I have been spending a lot of time out of doors these last 6 months or so. For a while I was walking a semi-cleared trail next to our development, but that was stopped when I ran into a hunter on that property who told me that it was hunting season, and it wasn't a good idea to be on the private land at the time. (We haven't been back since.) I then decided to make regular forays to Forney Creek instead. The trails are sparsely populated and the park is close to our home.  It is about 5-7 minutes away depending on the traffic which is perfect for weekday outings. 

 I would say that I head out there with Max and Miles about 3-4 times a week. We walk between 3 and 4.75 miles depending on the trail we pick, and we tend to walk in the early morning hours just as the dawn is breaking. Sometimes, though, we do walk those trails in the later morning or afternoon hours and the change of lighting and change of time can make it feel like a completely different environment, yet exactly the same in some weird juxtaposition. 

I almost always find things that fascinate me when I walk in Forney Creek. Whether it is the way the light hits a certain part of the pathway, or a flower that has just begun to bloom, or a hollowed-out tree trunk that I just know houses some sweet little creature - I often find myself taking my phone out of my pocket to capture some little thing that catches my eye. Mostly these things are just average ordinary things, but that is the exact thing that I find so magical about them. These images I find in my camera after a morning or afternoon on the trail are just average, every day, ordinary moments in time. The exact ones that are so easy to forget but are the ones that make up a life; that also makes them the most important ones to try and remember. 

If you look carefully, you can see the spider web I was trying to capture. In the upper part of the picture there is a yellowish ball - that is actually a spider!

Do you see that huge freaking brown spider?! 

This is part of the land beside our development. It has recently been cleared (or at least a portion of it has been) and survey roads roam all through the large tract of land. 

Maxi taking a break from our hiking shenanigans. 

Miles goading Maxi to play with him. 

Of course, Miles won. 

Maxi thought he finally got rid of his rascally little brother but...

Nope!

"Max, play with me, play with me, play with me!"

This goddamn snake scared the shit out of me. It was obviously in the tree branches, but it was super close to the trail which I did not like at all. 

I freaking hate snakes. Hate them. These rat snakes are especially loathsome because they grow to be so long which in my mind the bigger the snake the scarier it is - wait what the hell am I saying?! All snakes are scary. Thank goodness they are nonvenomous, but I still hate seeing them. 

Back by our house again...

And back to Forney Creek...

 

Senior Night

Senior night. Like with so many pivotal moments in life, it seems like just yesterday that Joshua was starting his four years at Belmont Abbey, and last October he played his last home game. It was a good night for all as all 18 seniors got playtime, those who played on the developmental team even got a chance to start which I thought was a really nice touch. 

Because there were so many boys playing no one got a ton of playtime, but that was okay by me. I was just glad that all of the boys got on the field and were honored for the hard work they put in these past four seasons, especially those from the developmental team who have never seen first team playtime. 

Almost immediately after Josh was put into the game, he had an assist on the fourth and final goal of the game. The boys won 4-0 which is always nice when you can end your collegiate home games with a 'W'. 

Besides the five of us (Andy, Sarah, Elizabeth, Bobby, and Me), my parents came down to watch Josh play (as they have at least once every season) and also my in-laws (who saw his very first game). Josh's girlfriend, Liz, was also there to cheer him on. 

To be honest, because of what an emotional roller coaster these four years have been, but especially his senior year, I was not sorry to be done with home games at Belmont Abbey. I was sad for Josh because I know how much he loves the sport of soccer and how important his teammates are to him, but I wasn't sad about ending the heartache these four years have brought. 

The end of an era ended that night, but a new one will begin again soon as Josh seeks out coaching positions for the game he loves so much. 

Josh and two of his teammates after having supplied the assist to the young man behind Josh who scored a goal.