it felt like summer today as the mister, mama and i walked up and down and down and up sticky, muddy trails in Los Osos. the sky was a pale hazified blue with clouds and contrails zipping about like dragonflies over a soccer a field. we didn't have a trail guide or topographic map so we wandered from one trail to another until we hit a dead end and circled back.
before all that, on the way out to the trail we turned off the main highway to see a smattering of cars honk, honking away at a truck stalled in the left turn lane. there must have been a dozen cars twisty-turning around the stalled car while a young business owner sat in the bed of his pick-up truck surrounded by flowers looked on. the mister and i pulled over and made our way back up the road and offered a push as best we could. with a dazzling smile of relief she thanked us as we steered her to safety still with cars honk, honking away. it always makes me a little sad how little we help out our fellow creatures.
i remember once, a long time ago when my old prince valiant, a
1968 plymouth in too many shades of primer gray stalled in the pouring rain smack dab at a busy-busy intersection. my hazhards were on as i opened the choke and pleaded for him to start. amidst all the honking and yelling, i put the prince into neutral and tripped out in the puddles and puddles and did my best to push AND steer all by myself. not one person in their car offered a hand. to my relief a trio of guys who hang out on the corner looking for odd jobs trotted over and steered me to a safe zone. i was never so happy as to hand that guy my last $5 and tell him to get himself something hot to drink. he smiled, i smiled and we understood that the moment was good. since then, i do my best to offer assistance when i am able. it doesn't take much, it really doesn't and it can turn an entire day around to something good.
after our hike we nosed our way to a local favorite
burger joint before taking a chance on the monarch grove. there are two groves up here in the county that offer shelter to migrating monarchs and the day was too pretty not to try. with guide book in hand we made our way and wandered into the shady pungent forest of eucalyptus trees. like fairies hiding out in our peripheral we could almost, almost see them fluttering about. in the quiet of the grove, a smaller than tall tree toppled causing a mad crash to lift a dozen or so large butterflies careening here and there. we wandered further into the clearing to find we weren't alone and did our best to offer friendliness to a slightly cantankerous character that left us three a might bit uneasy. after he left we stood there in silence, eyes cast upwards to the tippy top of the trees. the number of butterflies has dwindled substantially but if you stand still and turn your gaze outwards from yourself you will see a show that is delightful. we were in shadow and the butterflies were fast so all my photos came out glurry-blurry. but oh it was worth it to simply stand and watch.
on the drive back home i spotted a discarded chair in faded rose velvet complete with cardboard sign and lopsided smile. the light right then was no good for photos so i grabbed a sharpie from the front of the car and wrote C H A I R on my wrist as a reminder in case i am up early tomorrow morning. back at the homestead i see that most my pictures have come out blurry and hazy hazy. i'm either off my game or the day was weirdly filtered. either way i'm okay with that as one of the pictures from the grove offers up a lens flash that could very well be a fairy.
so today was good even if it was hat day and no hats were made. even if i copped out for a starbucks that disappointed me in more ways than one. even if i didn't find the chipboard alphabet letters i was searching for at michael's. it was good. i remembered to use my coupon to get my sticky glue for half off and i like to think i spent my $20 as creatively (if not wisely) as possible. from craft supplies, to a loaf of crusty bread to a disappointing coffee drink, i actually spent it all save for a penny. and now i am home with my mouth happy from
home baked cookies as i tippy type away thinking it is time to dig out the homemade vegetable soup the mister made last night. happy hat day my friends, may your thinking cap be a most productive one.
