This is a cautionary tale to be diligent, alert, and always pay attention when you’re doing something as simple as walking…
Since we’re between storms, this was a beautiful morning for a walk. As I headed toward the beach, there’s an intersection with a four-way stop. (For those of you who know Carlsbad, it’s Chinquapin and Adams.)
At the time I safely proceeded to cross at the crosswalk, there were no cars. As I was almost all the way across the street, three-quarters of the way to the other side, a small-ish SUV caught my eye because the car didn’t seem to be slowing down to stop at the stop sign and I was directly in the line of fire.
It seemed as if she was planning to roll through the stop sign and hit me!
I stopped, yelled “HEY!” as loud as I could, which got her attention and she screeched to a halt, inches away from me.
She looked extremely flustered, surprised and guilty; proof that she had absolutely not seen me. I know I’m small, but I’m not invisible. Sheesh.
After that, I emitted a few dozen choice words and tried to get her license number as she sped off but not before I saw that she had a photo of a baby hanging from her rear view mirror. She was a mom and might have even put her child in harm’s way.
That’s a close enough call with death for one day, or at least a close call with a potentially painful accident.
The moral of the story is to stay alert and don’t trust that a driver will pay attention or even obey simple rules of the road.
Anyway, I’d like to thank my guardian angels for protecting me one more time!
Last week’s King Tides created the unusual sight of flooded marsh and wetlands.
Here at Agua Hedionda, freshwater creeks drain into a low-lying area meeting the sea. The ocean pushes tides and sands against the land as the creek drains its fresh water and sediment into the sea. This mix of fresh and salt water forms a brackish environment. The salinity varies with the seasonal influence of rain and storms.
Sometimes the tide is so low, we can walk all the way around to the south side where there’s a sweet little beach, but not that day!
With all of this recent rain we’ve had (and more on the way), freshwater basins appear and fill the normally dry land surrounding the lagoon.
After all these years, this is still one of my favorite views. We see the lagoon, freeway, train tracks, and Pacific ocean.
That’s the feeling I get from an afternoon walk around Agua Hedionda Lagoon. It’s the kind of holiday celebration I love.
This is the perfect spot to breathe and contemplate centuries of Native American history.
For ten thousand years, these rolling hills and canyons surrounding the lagoon provided shelter and food with an abundance of native plants and trees.
Indigenous peoples spent their winters making salt and gathering shellfish for food, jewelry, tools, and trade.
To the Luiseño, this area was Palmai, or “place of big water.” The Luiseño culture is noted for its mysticism and religious practices.
From “Seekers of the Spring – A History of Carlsbad” by Marje Howard-Jones: “It was a hot and dusty afternoon when Don Gaspar de Portola and Father Juan Crespi called a halt by the banks of a tidal lagoon. According to the padre’s journal for Monday, July 17, 1769, the party had left San Alejo to the south at three in the afternoon. They had traveled one league before descending into a valley where alders sheltered a deserted Indian village. ‘We named this valley San Simon Lipnica’, he wrote. Taking special exception to the scent of decaying fish and other debris, it was the soldiers who unwittingly christened the lagoon for posterity: ‘Agua Hedionda,” the ‘stinking waters’.”
The Native American peaceful coexistence with nature created a culture whose openness and adaptability left them vulnerable to aggressive invaders, another tragic story of desecration, destruction, and appropriation.
We had rain, hardly enough to do anything but wet the street and sidewalk. After, the sky was painted with spectacular clouds and bonus moon sightings!
At the lagoon.
After the lagoon, walking up the hill, homeward bound.
It was too hot too early to walk the full six mile round trip to the Pacific Ocean and back, so I settled for a longish trek around the lagoon with detours to observe it from different perspectives.
I ended up walking mostly all the way to the beach anyway and stopped at Rite Aid to buy myself a treat but nothing looked fun or appealing or was small enough to fit in my little backpack, so I continued on my journey.
Looking east from a secret side street overlooking Snug Harbor and the swan boats on Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
It wasn’t even 9am and the little beach was full of families enjoying Father’s Day and paddleboarding and kayaks. Thank goodness there’s no gigantic mall marring the view on the south shore.
Well, well, well, it seems like we have a very low tide, too, combined with our drought situation.
It’s not often that one could literally walk all the way around the lagoon to the beaches on the south side. I was wearing new shoes and didn’t want to ruin them in the muck, but for once it was entirely possible.
First thing this morning, directly outside my bedroom window, I was greeted by not one, not two, but THREE bunnies! I knew right then and there that it was going to be a great day.
I could see this gigantic ship pretty much all the way from my house and I don’t think it moved at all, or very slowly, by the time I made it to the beach. Going north or south, I can’t tell. It was quite a few miles offshore, that’s why it’s not a clear photo.
I was sitting crosslegged on top of a cement picnic table on the sidewalk overlooking the beach when someone walked by and told me I looked quite peaceful. Maybe it’s because of the way I was sitting, meditatively, but the thoughts in my head weren’t so serene. It was H-O-T and I was not looking forward to the long UPHILL walk back to Casa de Enchanted Seashells. In addition to those thoughts, I had to use the restroom and the beach bathroom isn’t the most luxurious, but when you gotta go…So I did and then I could no longer delay the inevitable — I walked home.
Or how I became the spirit human to a wandering white egret. Do you have a spirit animal? I’m sure we all do, but today I became a bird’s spirit human. At least that’s the story I told myself.
(I’ll not bury the lede and confess that I’m NOT the naked lady, just in case you were curious.)
I don’t know if it’s because of the lingering full moon energy coupled with another Santa Ana heatwave, but this was a strange and interesting Sunday.
I’ve been able to increase my mileage according to the doc’s plan, as long as my foot doesn’t hurt. It can be bit sore, but if I start limping, that’s my cue to give him a call. So far, so good.
On today’s walk, I got a late start and didn’t want to walk to the beach because that’s about 7 or 8 miles round trip, much more than the five miles he approved.
I walked up and around the lagoon. On the way back, I saw one police car and then two and when I saw the third one, my interest was piqued and I decided to follow it. They seemed to all be parked on a street that leads to a lagoon beach.
I stopped and asked a neighbor what was going on and he said he heard there was a naked woman wandering around the area. I then walked up to a police officer and asked him to corroborate what I heard, and he did. I exhorted (strongly encouraged) him to be kind to her since the police dog was there too, and it probably was some sort of mental health issue, not a “let’s unleash the hounds of hell” issue.
By the way, when did cops start dressing like urban warfare combat fighters? The ones I saw today were dressed in FULL ON body armor, in FULL ON FIGHT MODE to what was probably either a domestic or a mental health situation. They were incredibly intimidating looking for a little beach town, way too hard core.
I decided to move on and continue walking out of respect for whomever it was and whatever was going on. Sometimes I hang around to document possible police misconduct, but there were other people gathering, so I felt it was okay to leave.
After walking for another block or so, this is what I saw.
Yup, a beautiful white egret simply standing as still as a statue. S/he took a couple of steps…do you have any idea how SLOWLY egrets walk? It’s like doing a mindful walking meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh, something I’m not at all good at, ‘cos I’m not patient. At all.
But this time, I slowed down to enjoy the moment. S/he walked across the street SO S L O W L Y, turned his/her head and seemed to beckon me to follow, so I did. I stayed a couple feet back and every so often, s/he would turn to look at me and continue.
When it seemed as if (I’ll just call it a female, cos that’s the vibe I got) she wanted to cross a street that’s a bit busier, I went out in the street to warn traffic and to escort her safely. A mom and her two kids joined me and we all followed this queenly white egret up the street. Cars stopped to watch and it was so joyous and so delightful to participate in the Queen Egret Parade. The mom and kids went back home but I continued on our journey together to shepherd this magnificent bird.
I felt as if she was a bit timid, a bit unsure about where she was, and needed me. When we came to a clearing with a field and tall trees, I decided it was time for her to fly. I raised both of my arms outstretched like wings and silently communicated to her that it wasn’t safe on these streets and she needed to fly.
And she did. I watched her circle the area and land in a tall eucalyptus tree. Another egret flew by and my hope is that they all ended up back at the lagoon, safe and sound.
Honestly, I feel like in that moment, I became the spirit human to this pure white egret wanderer.
I don’t have any new information about the naked woman, and I’ll update if I hear anything.
It’s only 11 a.m. and I’ve already had a magical day. It’s time to put a clothes in the washing machine and check the video to see if my coyote or bobcat came to visit. For me, that would be the icing on the cake.
My poor little foot is finally healing properly because I FINALLY stopped re-breaking it since I didn’t know it was broken. It hasn’t been easy due to the fact that I HATE inertia coupled with the fact that I am an outdoor girl who NEEDS to keep moving. But I did and now I’m nearly ready to resume full activity.
The lingering issue is that my shoes might have contributed to the break. They had a lot of miles on them and had lost their cushion-y gel protection, which meant I needed to research and purchase new athletic shoes.
This is where Cinderella enters stage left…
There are SO MANY new brands. Asics had been my go-to brand for a decade, but I needed something more cushy and supportive, but NOT orthopedic, oh hell no.
I tried on all sorts of shoes…Hoka, New Balance, more Hoka, different versions of Asics-in all price ranges, until finally FINALLY, the nice person at Roadrunner suggested Brooks for high mileage walking. Hmmm, this was a new one, I had never worn Brooks, but research revealed they’re a great brand.
This is my Cinderella moment. I tried them on and they fit perfectly. It’s not a glass slipper but I’m more than satisfied that I’ll be able to hit the ground running as soon as my next x-ray. Plus, they’re CUTE, right?
Introducing my new Brooks. I’m not sure why the style is called “Ghost“, do you?
Enchanted Seashells by Princess Rosebud 