On finding clues.

Last Saturday Z & I arose before the sun

to drive up to Visalia for Z to run

with his running group.

While he was getting in about 12 miles, 

I meandered around the park.

The park was lovely, but I wouldn't 

say it was peaceful.

You see, it is evidently home

to large, large numbers of geese &

other water fowl, 

so the noise level was rather high.

Even so, the park was interesting, 

with several waterways, ponds, 

picnic pavilions, playgrounds, 

open green spaces,

and historic buildings.

I think my favorite thing was near the picnic pavilions.

I was really just cutting across one of them to 

get to a bridge, when something in the grass caught my eye.

It was part of a coloured eggshell.

At first I just chalked it up to the recent Easter holiday, 

assuming that this park would be a likely spot

for a large egg hunt.

But then I saw some other eggshell remnants, 

and beyond them a vast rainbow

of forgotten confetti

scattered all around the pavilion's 

concrete edges.

I love images & stories,

 and I especially love little clues that allow

me to piece together a small history.

It became obvious to me that this was way

more than just your ordinary Easter egg hunt.

This was an epic Easter egg celebration.

Someone had taken the time to hollow

the eggs, dye the fragile shells,

fill them with paper confetti,

and seal them off with tissue paper.

Can't you just imagine all the participants

running through the grass, armed with

eggs of all hues, 

and then chucking them at each other!

The rain of color that floated down

in a cloud after each egg burst!

It made me laugh aloud, 

standing all by myself, to think of 

what a joyous scene that must have been.

Park Life

Earlier this week I went with Z to a park

to hike around with my camera while he ran.

The interesting thing about this particular park 

is that it sits up on top of several bluffs, 

so you have a panoramic view of the mountains

to the east, and the oil fields stretching out to the north.

But there is also a river and canal that run

directly below the bluffs with a running trail, 

and there are dirt paths 

all along the bluffs that lead down to the water.

So you are left with an unusual combination of nature & industry

not typical (in my previous experience) of a park setting.

A walk in the park

Recently I went with Z

to a large park on the outskirts of town.

While he was off running

like a billionty miles,

I took a long hike with my camera.

This particular park is interesting.

It has ponds, paved trails,

a disc golf course,

a lake, mountain bike trails,

a soccer park, hiking trails on the bluffs,

& lots of wildlife.

Attached to the park is CALM,

a small zoo that mostly houses

creatures native to this area,

but lots of migrating birds & other

various animals tend to visit the area, too.

In addition to the CALM animals,

the park is home to hundreds of cats.

Evidently it is a popular place to

abandon felines, but don't worry;

there is a group that comes every

evening & leaves them dishes of cat food.

There are also large numbers of peacocks.

Definitely not your typical park.