New Leaves, Turning Over
I consider yesterday to be my own first day of spring.
It was wonderful. dom_ino and I drove up to Fort Pillow a little after noon. On the way, we stopped at a little, non-descript convenience store where he got a pork chop sandwich and I got an order of fried gizzards. They were done true Southern-style (much grease) and I could only eat about half of mine.
We parked and hiked to the fort, looked out over the bluff and towards the lake. We then cut down to a boat ramp where Joe found a spotty path that followed the river. We headed down it. At a certain point there was a fairly wide rivulent with a weathered cistern on the other side. Joe, being sure-footed, flew across some fallen, partially submerged trees and reached the cistern. I had tried to lead the way and trusted in a log that gave to water and got both my boots wet up to the shins.
It was only a few minutes til they were dried, though. We made our way, weaving through thorns and brambles, climbing small mounds of deteriorating trees to get to the lake itself. We turned to the side and saw we were where the river flowed into the lake. We looked to our right and saw cranes lifting and spreading into the air. After a bit of exploring we worked our way back, this time both of us getting wet in the dirty stream.
It felt so good to be a little explorative, sweaty, and muddy. We wound the hour-plus drive back to Memphis, on barely enough gas. We listened to a compilation cd ("Grade A Meat") that Joe's ex had made him, we listened to Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
We got back home, humped for the second time that day, jumped up and made biscuits and cornbread to take to our friend Laura's. She made chilli and Beth made home-made cookies. We played a card drinking game after eating, to get loosened up, then played Encore (a lyric-singing game), then 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, drinking as we went. We laughed our asses off and had a wonderful time. Laura reminded us of daylight savings time and we went home to crash with conviction.
I am proudest of being a bit sore from all the walking around we did. That's left me feeling like I want to commit to taking better care of my body this season. In the winter, I tend to get lethargic and depressed, do little that's active. This year, I want to
1. get my diet closer to vegetarian again (make the only regular meat in my diet fish),
2. begin some regular sort of exercise -- not the gym, possibly more regular hiking/walking, maybe yoga or tai chi,
3. quit smoking by the end of the year.
My body may not be my temple, but it's at least my workshop. Maybe it's time to put it in order, keep it primed and ready for motion.
It was wonderful. dom_ino and I drove up to Fort Pillow a little after noon. On the way, we stopped at a little, non-descript convenience store where he got a pork chop sandwich and I got an order of fried gizzards. They were done true Southern-style (much grease) and I could only eat about half of mine.
We parked and hiked to the fort, looked out over the bluff and towards the lake. We then cut down to a boat ramp where Joe found a spotty path that followed the river. We headed down it. At a certain point there was a fairly wide rivulent with a weathered cistern on the other side. Joe, being sure-footed, flew across some fallen, partially submerged trees and reached the cistern. I had tried to lead the way and trusted in a log that gave to water and got both my boots wet up to the shins.
It was only a few minutes til they were dried, though. We made our way, weaving through thorns and brambles, climbing small mounds of deteriorating trees to get to the lake itself. We turned to the side and saw we were where the river flowed into the lake. We looked to our right and saw cranes lifting and spreading into the air. After a bit of exploring we worked our way back, this time both of us getting wet in the dirty stream.
It felt so good to be a little explorative, sweaty, and muddy. We wound the hour-plus drive back to Memphis, on barely enough gas. We listened to a compilation cd ("Grade A Meat") that Joe's ex had made him, we listened to Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
We got back home, humped for the second time that day, jumped up and made biscuits and cornbread to take to our friend Laura's. She made chilli and Beth made home-made cookies. We played a card drinking game after eating, to get loosened up, then played Encore (a lyric-singing game), then 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon, drinking as we went. We laughed our asses off and had a wonderful time. Laura reminded us of daylight savings time and we went home to crash with conviction.
I am proudest of being a bit sore from all the walking around we did. That's left me feeling like I want to commit to taking better care of my body this season. In the winter, I tend to get lethargic and depressed, do little that's active. This year, I want to
1. get my diet closer to vegetarian again (make the only regular meat in my diet fish),
2. begin some regular sort of exercise -- not the gym, possibly more regular hiking/walking, maybe yoga or tai chi,
3. quit smoking by the end of the year.
My body may not be my temple, but it's at least my workshop. Maybe it's time to put it in order, keep it primed and ready for motion.