I’m getting better at listening to myself, paying attention to what’s going on for me, physically and emotionally and allowing myself to move at my own pace. Last week when I was sick I accomplished very little, I didn’t have the energy or motivation even to do things I really liked and my walks were shorter than usual. I got frustrated with myself for wasting this downtime that I had, not spending more time doing the things I enjoyed. But then I realized what I needed was just to rest and not do anything, regardless of how much I enjoyed it or not.
About a week ago Mom showed me an item on the news about a bald eagle couple that is sitting on three eggs in their nest above Big Bear Lake. There’s a WebCam near the nest and I have been checking in several times each day to see what’s been happening. I’ve seen one or the other sitting faithfully on the nest in rain and snow, and a few times I’ve been lucky enough to see the eagle stand up so I could spot the eggs. It is such a cool thing to observe these majestic birds close up.
My time at the MCBA has almost come to an end so I’ve had time to do other things including checking out an exhibit at the Mill Valley Public Library about black history at my high school. The exhibit highlighted notable African-American graduates of the school as well as student activism in increasing equity over the decades. It was fascinating learning about what had taken place both before and after I was a student there, in particular the classes that were implemented and groups that were active in the late 60s and early 70s. There was also discussion about the negative impact of redlining and other tactics that were used to segregate neighborhoods. I learned about a real estate agent who lost her license because she helped two African American families buy homes in ‘white’ areas (basically all of Mill Valley). This is the kind of history that I would’ve found a lot more interesting in high school than the stuff we were taught. I’m still processing what I learned, it’s such a different experience to hear about what happened in my own community, instead of it being a more generic historical fact. It was a lot to take in so I plan to go back again soon.
Inspired by an article in the paper about local waterfall hikes I ventured out to three trails in different parts of the county and checked out several waterfalls of varying intensity.
The first was Dawn Falls in Corte Madera. The drive to the trailhead was gorgeous, a narrow, winding road lined with redwood trees and houses tucked in between them. The hike was beautiful, everything is just such gorgeous shades of green. The weather was on and off rainy, which just added to the lusciousness of the hike. The falls themselves were on the sparse side, but still well worth the hike.
The next day I went on one of my all-time favorite hikes, Steep Ravine on Mount Tam. I had planned to get up and be there as soon as it was light, but it was absolutely pouring so I decided to wait as the rain was only supposed to last an hour or so. I finally got to the trailhead just after nine and there was a light rain for the first 45 minutes or so of the hike. But again it just added to the absolute beauty of the surroundings. Everything just full of life and bursting from the water. I took my time going down, I find when I’m hiking on steep trails that have lots of rocks and roots I have to be very mindful and I’m almost slower going down than I am coming up. That was fine with me, I had so many beautiful things to see on the hike. I only encountered one other person, a guy who was just as enthusiastic as I was being out on a beautiful trail that was pretty much deserted. Steep Ravine on a sunny Saturday can be as crowded as Grand Central Station. So it was heaven to have it pretty much to myself. The falls next to the ladder were flowing strong as well as the ones further down the trail. I felt like the water was pumping up all of my veins inside to giving me energy.
Finally on Thursday, I headed to Novato to the Buck Gulch Falls. This was a much shorter hike, only about a half a mile from the parking area at the end of the road. I encountered two other people walking with their dogs. It was a nice hike in, and the falls were fantastic. I am so glad I have been able to get out and enjoy the aftermath of all the rain that we’ve had.
Because it was sunny today I took advantage of the weather and washed my sheets and hung them out to dry, and they smell absolutely delicious.
I came home after work to see the redwood trees in front of the fire station being taken down. We knew it was coming as they were apparently not doing well, but it was so sad to see them go, they have been there for as long as I can remember.
