The waves weren’t great, more of a shore break, but there’s still a lineup of hopeful surfers. No whales, though, so that was a disappointment.
I peeked through the trees and thought I saw a swan in the artificial pond near the lagoon, but…
…it was a lovely white egret.
I’m not sure why he’s there, as the actual saltwater lagoon is steps away, but maybe he knows something I don’t.
I wish they’d return for another visit to Casa de Enchanted Seashells. That was so cool!
A new walking trail opened up in the city of San Marcos.
It’s inland and a bit of a drive, so it’s best to get there in the early morning or late afternoon because the temps are going up.
The trail is only a mile or so, not at all strenuous, but the views are magnificent with California lilacs and mature ceanothus surrounding the South Lake Reservoir — built in 1959, although it hasn’t been used as a source of drinking water since 1984.
I doubled back instead of completing the easier loop and that added an extra mile to the hike.
There’s a lot of coastal scrub, coots, ducks, redwing blackbirds, deer, bobcats, and coyotes. I wish I had seen deer; maybe next time! South Lake is also home to a rare native turtle; the Western Pond Turtle, and I’m sorry to say that I didn’t see them, either.
Definitely remember to bring water and a wide-brimmed hat as it gets super toasty in the sun!
To find the universal elements enough;
to find the air and the water exhilarating;
to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter…
to be thrilled by the stars at night;
to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring –
these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~ John Burroughs
Join me on an early morning walk around the lake trails.
There’s a familiar fragrance of tule, which some people don’t like, but I love love the way it smells. Tule grows in dense stands along freshwater wetlands.
Indigenous peoples ate tule roots and seeds, while the reeds were used to make baskets, cord, sandals, and clothing. P.S. Here’s how to say it: “too-lee”
With all the rain we’ve had, everything was uncharacteristically green…as far as the eye could see…
Pretty Black-eyed Susan flowers!
It’s a human-made lake, not natural, intended to be a reservoir, but the ducks and coots don’t seem to mind a bit.
Native buckwheat.
I didn’t see any coyotes this time, but it was still a lot of fun!
A few photos to memorialize January 2024.
This is my favorite, a swan pedal boat on Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It’s an activity high on the list when the Angels visit this summer. Doesn’t that look like a lot of fun?
Now I’m standing on a path with a view of the trestle bridge and a peek of a blue Pacific ocean. Do any locals know my specific location? I bet not, ‘cos it’s a secret.
After walking all the way around the lagoon, this is a look to the east and a very low tide…
If you block out the electrical poles and the road, it’s easy to transport yourself back in time to when this land was the home of the indigenous Kumeyaay Indian Nation.
This is where they lived, fished, gathered berries, wove baskets, and buried their families. They lived in small family groups which had to move frequently to find new sources of food and water. Each clan wintered in a sheltered valley and migrated into the mountains in the spring.
It’s sacred land and should stay that way in perpetuity.
Coyotes were in the garden last night! I was awakened at midnight by at least two extremely conversational coyotes; yipping and howling for a few minutes. I went back to sleep with a smile on my face.
This morning I went on a beach walk (did NOT almost get run over by a crazy driver this time) and was lucky enough to see three dolphins! I’m sorry the photos aren’t great, but I only had my phone.
Here they are in the middle of the photo, to the right of the little boat. They’re moving south.
In this photo, the dolphins are directly to the left of the paddleboarders, who are actually watching them swim by.
Dolphins represent a bond between mankind and Mother Nature, in part due to their emotional connection with humans while they remain firmly part of the animal kingdom. Dolphins are representative of both the Air and Water elements as they are warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals, yet they reside in the depths of the ocean.
For me, hearing coyotes last night and seeing dolphins this morning are two positive indicators that December is starting out to be an amazing way to end 2023!
I believe this to be true.
"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right."~Søren Kierkegaard
It seems as if I’ve see HOKA shoes everywhere. Do you know the brand or what HOKA means? HOKA is a verb meaning to soar or to fly.
I’ve worn mostly all the brands, but never HOKA. Well, never before yesterday, that is. I’m like Cinderella with shoes; they have to fit perfectly or I reject them.
I went to a local athletic shoe store and tried on a mountain of different brands and styles, resisting the HOKA for no real reason, I guess.
I was feeling dejected and a little embarrassed about the wasteland of boxes around me when the really nice and exceedingly patient employee suggested I try HOKA. “Just try them.” he said.
At first I demurred and then I acquiesced because I had literally exhausted their entire stock. When I slipped them on, it was as if my Prince Charming was sure to magically appear because they fit like a glove, so comfortable that I didn’t want to take them off. Now I understand why I’ve seen so many people wearing them.
I was drawn to the rose gold with black which is a change for me as I usually pick the brightest colors in the shoe palette.
(I guess this is a kind of review, but solely from my own experience because I didn’t get them for free or any other form of compensation.)
Even with a torn meniscus and all the other broken stuff in my knee, I will continue to perambulate, to move my body — because like Kierkegaard said, “if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
Or, as I like to say, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” Anyway, that’s MY philosophy.
I knew it would happen again, and sadly it did, at the EXACT same location. It's not a good outcome when emergency vehicles stay on-site for more than an hour.
Another update...After talking to a couple of local police officers, and at their suggestion, I called the traffic division. When someone returned my call two days later, I can't say she was all that interested in my near-death experience but gave me some mollifying type of assurance that she'd request enhanced patrols on the weekends at that busy intersection. It was a spectacularly unsatisfying conversation. I felt placated and patronized. I have every belief that nothing will change, someone else won't be as agile as I was and they'll have a more tragic outcome to deal with.
Quick update: Is there something in the water here? Just now as I was grocery shopping, yet another almost collision occurred. The lanes I was driving in had no stop signs or a light, but the cross street had a stop sign. There were two lanes and a couple cars and I were traversing in the same direction when a car that SHOULD HAVE STOPPED and waited for us decided for some unknown reason to NOT stop. If we hadn't both been going slow and able to swerve safely out of harm's way, there would have been a collision. I swear, you could probably have heard my horn on the east coast. The errant driver yelled, "Sorry!" but that doesn't change the fact that it's dangerous to be a pedestrian OR a driver. The moral of the story is to be extra careful, extra cautious, and alert!
I think I just used up about four of my nine lives on Sunday. Without being accused of being melodramatic, it was the closest to death I’ve ever been.
I woke up around 6:30 a.m. because I heard a really loud diesel truck idling outside, which is unusual around here.
When I ran downstairs and looked out the living room window, the street in front of my house was filled with the bright flashing lights of fire engines and paramedics. I watched as they took away my neighbor strapped on a gurney, but I don’t know what actually happened.
A similar thing occurred last week to the neighbor on the OTHER side of my immediate neighbor; paramedics and even police cars were there for a couple of hours. So far, I don’t have any intel on that event, either.
I think these odd episodes set the stage for what (almost) happened. Could it be due to cosmic forces and planetary tumult? Don’t things happen in threes? I think I heard that somewhere.
Anyway…
There was surprising and UNforecasted welcome rain last night and it left behind much cooler temperatures, so I decided to walk to the beach.
I was almost there and stopped to cross the street at a well defined four-way stop and pedestrian crosswalk. (That’s at Garfield and Tamarack if you’re from my town.) There were stopped cars at three of the stop signs. Knowing there are distracted and horrible drivers everywhere, I pay careful attention to stuff like that.
I began to cross and as I approached the middle of the intersection walking north, the SUV that had been stopped at the stop sign going south, just started going like a bat out of hell, making a speeding left turn, directly at me, as if I was invisible or something. Which I’m NOT.
There was no real time to think about avoiding being hit because in that split second, I knew I was going to be badly injured.
What I recollect and what four witnesses corroborated, was that at the point of NEARLY being impacted by this accelerating vehicle, I actually slapped the side of her left hood with my hand and did a very ballerina-like twirl to avoid being hit. The SUV almost touched me as I evaded the collision. There was truly about an inch between me and the vehicle, an INCH!
I didn’t call the police because not one of us could get her plate number since she sped off as I believe she realized what she had done. It was a woman in a ubiquitous white SUV, and there are literally a million of those around here. We couldn’t identify any specific make or model because it all happened so fast.
People came out of their houses to see if I was OK. They said it looked as if I had been hit. I was a bit shaky and shocky from all that adrenaline so I sat down for a few minutes and had a glass of water.
The four witnesses high-fived me (really!), commented on my agility and how that saved me from serious injuries. They said they had never seen anything like it because the impact seemed unavoidable. They were also suitably charmed by the string of unfiltered expletives that I hurled at the driver as she sped away.
I’m beyond grateful for those many years of ballet training because if I hadn’t reacted like that, I can’t even imagine how many broken bones and internal damage I’d have to heal from. The whole thing probably took less than five seconds and as quick as it was over, it also felt as if it was happening in slow motion — all very strange.
There are two ways to think about it. Either it wasn’t my day, or it really WAS my day. I can’t for sure say it wasn’t divinely scripted. Do angels exist? Did angels intervene? I really need to stop and think about it.
I feel like I’ve used up several of my nine lives – I only hope I have a few more. There’s so much to be grateful for, that’s for sure.
I finished my journey, took a photo of the ocean, calmed down, and walked back home without any further scary experiences.
There it is, the peaceful serenity of our Pacific Ocean. Sadly, there weren’t any whales or dolphins, but it’s still an eternally beautiful and nourishing sight.
Reaching my destination almost killed me, but I persisted, prevailed, and live to tell the story.
Have you had a near-death experience to share?
I’m not talking about that song by the The Romantics, but a secret spot I discovered while out walking yesterday.
I can’t believe I’ve lived here for decades and never knew about this little beachy secret. One other person was there with their dogs and we vowed not to disclose this classified location…
Pretty cool, huh?
Looking to the east…
And to the west…
I MIGHT be persuaded to share the coordinates of this idyllic site, but you’d have to also be sworn to secrecy.
Can I trust you?
A May gray morning is the perfect weather for a walk.
My hydrangea is blooming and yes, I know I could turn the flowers blue with the correct fertilizer, but I decided to allow them to retain their natural hue without intervention.
At sundown, this is where I often see coyotes, but nothing right now.
Here’s the entrance to a lagoon path; how adorable is this community fairy village?
I’m not too sure what that big square thingy is on the shoreline, but I didn’t want to walk in the muck with my good walking shoes, so it’ll have to remain a mystery.
It’s rattlesnake season, so I diligently watched where I was going and spied a strange object. It’s not exactly a rock but feels heavy for its size and to me, it looks like a whale. Another treasure to bring home!
I hope your Sunday is happy!
“And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” Friedrich Nietzsche
I like the sensual undulating ribbon dance of this little creek at the lagoon.
“All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” Friedrich Nietzsche.
I can’t disagree with that!
“The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” Friedrich Nietzsche ·
For me, nature IS art and I’m grateful for it, especially this lagoon, one of my happy places.
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 