Therapy at North Bay Park ...a Photo Essay of My Day

For me there is nothing quite as therapeutic as some sunshine and a date with my camera! Today I took the doggies out to North Bay Park, which is a couple of miles from my house. The sun was shining and it was warm with a lovely spring breeze.

it's been far too long since I've taken my camera out to play...

this is good for my soul!

And speaking of my camera, I need to talk about that word a little. To me, the word camera seems cold and metallic, much like the device. "Camera" comes nowhere close to describing how I really feel about this little piece of metal, plastic, and glass. Granted, it is only a thing, but it's a thing that I really love! For this reason, I refer to my camera as my "camrade" sort of like a comrade. :) My family members have heard me say this so much that they've begun to use it themselves, which I find endearing.

Today's little excursion was a therapy trip for my dogs too. It's been a long time coming for these sweet, faithful girls! They needed to get out of the house and see a bit more of the world! They are happy and well-loved to be sure, but the truth is that when I'm in school they spend a lot of time waiting for me to get home...and waiting for me to finish my homework.

Ditto and Dinah, my "doggy daughters," enjoying their ride in the car.

Once at the park, one of the first things I saw was a kite stuck in the edge of a tree. This made feel a little sad, and it made me think of life. Sometimes I feel as though I'm "stuck" just on the edge of freedom, just on the edge of breaking through to a more fulfilling life...a lot like this kite. It's the old "if only" adage that so many people live by, but that I try not to dwell on too much. I also thought about the child who lost this kite. I wonder what that day was like? I wonder how much time the adults who were present had to spend consoling?

We started our walk with a lovely view of the path stretching out ahead of us...

...but it didn't take long for the girls to find a log that smelled absolutely heavenly to them.

After stopping to say hi to lots of passers by, and of course to have a nice, long sniff at every opportunity, we finally made it down to the water. The sun was shining and the water was beautiful. Even the old, dead logs were glittering like diamonds!

These are the prescription sunglasses I got for Christmas last year. It was nice to finally put them to use for something other than driving in the car or walking around campus at Eastern. I am one lucky girl!

Once around the other side of the lake there was a bit more shade. The trees in Michigan are just gorgeous right now. They are all rife with buds and the colors are just beginning to burst forth in anticipation of warmer days ahead.

Standing under these huge trees, I felt almost as if it was raining willow branches. The way they were swaying in the breeze, and blocking the sun from my face...it was like a magical little world under the willows, belonging only to me. But, as if on cue, there was the ever-present reminder of humanity. A huge plane taking off from the local airport. I like the juxtaposition between nature and people in the photo below.

Also in a strange parallel to life, my walk wasn't all sunshine and roses. {Fair warning: if you are squeamish you may not want to look to closely at the following two photos!} About half way around the lake, I saw what I first thought was an old, hollow log next to a tree, but it didn't look quite right. Upon closer inspection I realized it was actually a dead fish. To be honest, I couldn't decide at the time if it was a dead bird or a dead fish, but after showing the pictures to Michael, we decided this was most certainly a former fish. How it got up next to the tree I have no idea. I'm certain there is some interesting story that goes along with this image too, much like the kite, but your guess is as good as mine!


All in all, dead fish included, I had a lovely day that made me feel more refreshed than I've felt in a long time. To top it off, I came home to find a very sweet card and gift from my young friend, Kyra. This is the little girl I cared for from the time she was two weeks old until she turned three-and-a-half and went to preschool. You can read more about my time with K. in this post, but the gist of the story is that this sweet gesture really warmed my heart. Kyra's mom called me last week to tell me how much they've been thinking about me. I've been thinking about them a lot too, but with all the craziness at school, calling them back has remained on my to-do list. :( We haven't been able to make time to see each other nearly as much as either one of us would have liked this past year, but the love is still there. Kyra is five now, which is unfathomable to me. She's a lovely little girl and I still miss her so much it hurts sometimes. It was really nice to know they were thinking of me, and the bracelet she made is darling. I've been wearing it all evening, but I did take it off for a minute so I could scan it in:

So sweet...what a lovely day it's been!