Sunshine and
in the upper 70s: yesterday was a
treat. My neighbor, Alice, and I went
for a first walk at the duck pond.
Bartlesville
has a park trail system called The Pathfinder, which winds its way between
parks through the countryside within the city limits. Since moving here in October, I’ve been
looking forward to trying out the paved trails.
Those first few weeks, caught up in the business of unpacking and doing
errands about town, I missed my window of opportunity for comfortable walking
weather. What’s more, I drive past the
duck pond when I have coffee at Jude’s and shop at Food Pyramid and have often
thought about stopping to walk, but weather or groceries in the back seat have
always stopped me.
We parked in
the gravel parking lot on the east side of the pond and started the loop. It was a day for geese, and from what we
observed, the mating season has begun.
The few in the water were busy with this springtime activity, but most
of the geese were hanging out in the park on the quest to be fed by willing
visitors armed with bags of stale bread pieces.
They honked and strutted about (the geese, not the people). A gaggle marched over to a minivan that
pulled up in the west-side parking. Sure
enough, on our next pass around the pond, we saw that gaggle gathered around a
picnic bench where the humans were tossing chunks of whole-wheat bread. One disheveled, old goose standing off by
itself reminded me of a rooster: its
beak was red and lumpy like a rooster craw.
Some of the geese were white, some brown. All were incredibly noisy.
We walked
and talked, enjoying the raucous geese, quiet ducks, and hot sun. We peeked in a dusty window of an abandoned
one-room cabin. We noticed that many of
the trees were marked by small signs identifying them. We commented on how pretty the area will be
once spring has turned the area from brown to green. Finally, after a good hour of walking, I
declared a last loop and we headed over to Alice’s car.
So it is no
surprise that my energy flagged last night and that I woke this morning with
pain as my companion. Even though the
temperature today is supposed to hit 81, I must forgo the duck pond today. I need a recovery day and am beyond grateful
that I am gainfully unemployed (my synonym for retirement) so that I can slow
my leisurely lifestyle down another notch to accommodate this pesky
fibromyalgia. Otherwise, my goose would
be cooked.
