Poetry and Prose by #1 Amazon Bestselling Author of Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, Co-Author of #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, and Jan/Feb 2022 Spillwords Press Author of the Month
There are so many places to hike in the Willamette Valley. It is a beautiful place, full of rivers, creeks, hills, lakes, and, yep, lots and lots of trails.
This past week, I stayed local again, and completed a short hike out at Chip Ross Park. Chip Ross Park is located in North Corvallis, and is, in part, connected to the McDonal Research Forest, which I wrote about in my last entry.
The hike I completed at Chip Ross Park this past week, is a moderate trail, fairly level, sans the trails beginning, which is somewhat steep. The hike winds you back through the dense forest, where you can catch glimpses of wildlife, flowers, and many, many varieties of plants.
Here are some pics from the hike.
Beautiful, yes? Yep, I think so too.
As I wandered through the forest last week, I was wondering about joining a gym again. I’ve been noticing that my body is tight, especially in my shoulders, arms, and back. Much of this is due to the extensive amount of computer facetime that is required, and has been for almost 15 months, in a remote work world.
When you spend 12 hours a day on a computer, working and then, yep, blogging, and are focused, you sit, well, a lot. Thus, more movement is needed. Yet, I am unsure if I’m ready to go to the gym regularly.
Pre Pandemic, I was at the gym every day. Really. I rarely missed. Yet, today? I’m not sure if that is necessary or needed. Hm. More reflection needed.
What have you done to stay mobile during the pandemic?
Alright, that’s all for this installment. Next time, I’ll have some waterfalls to show you, as I will be traveling up to Salem to hike Silver State Falls next week. Fun.
Here are a few more pics from the hike, just for fun.
I’ve now lived in Corvallis, Oregon for almost 9 years. We moved to Corvallis in 2012 for my graduate school education, which I am happy to report has been complete for many years.
Corvallis is a small town located in the Willamette Valley, about 90 miles South of Portland, and 50 miles North of Eugene. It is a quaint little city with approximately 56,000 residents, and home to Oregon State University.
I’ve been hiking around Corvallis for years, and yet never hiked the McDonald Research Forest until about 3 years ago. There are a plethora of trails, of all difficulty levels, within the research forest, with beautiful views.
Last week, I hiked the Vineyard Mountain Trail, which is of moderate difficulty, and is about 3.4 miles, if you do the whole loop. On the hike, you get to take in the forest in all of its beauty, which includes many different types of plants, trees, and flowers, and, if you are lucky and it is quiet, which it usually is, some birds. Beautiful.
Here are some pictures from my hike last week.
As I hiked the Vineyard Mountain Trail last week, I was present to the beauty of nature; and, the beauty in being present with nature. When we are fully present, all of life takes on richer and deeper colors; the vibrancy of which is stunning. Lovely.
Alright, as I mentioned in a previously published diary entry, this post is part of one of my new spring and summer series. In this series, I will take in a different hike every week or so, and then write about my reflections.
Thus, we will get to wander and wonder throughout the Willamette Valley together. Fun.
Wow, how is it that we are now in mid-April? Phew, not sure, time is moving, well, rather rapidly at the moment. Anyway, the past week was busy for numerous reasons. Yes, lots of work, and writing, and I did get my first vaccination dose last week.
More on that in a moment.
Let’s first take a look at two writing reflections, and two new series, shall we? Okay, here we go.
The poem Sprite, was inspired by the WDYS #77 prompt from Keep it Alive, by Sadje. I had a lot of fun with this little poem. Sadje’s prompt reminded me of being at the coast. Many of you know how much I love the beach, or coast, or sea, or shore, or whatever the ocean is called where you live. I grew up near the ocean, and love it much.
As I was reflecting upon the picture, it reminded me about my trip to Yachats a couple of months ago, and an antique store I visited during my trip. The prompt picture looks like something that the little shop would have stocked and sold. From there, it was off and running. One insight after another; and then, the poem was finished. Super fun.
Becoming (2)
The Poem Becoming (2), was inspired by a breakdown I had last Saturday. It was a rather large breakdown, which, as you might surmise I would write, is perfectly okay, even needed and wanted. Why?
Because it’s part of the process of being a human being. If we hold our emotions inside all the time, and actively resist them, we are resisting life. However, when we are with our emotions as they come, we are going with the flow of life.
I actually wrote the poem in intervals during the breakdown. Writing is, at times, how I process my emotions. It reminds me I am not alone; never, in fact, alone. None of us are. We are all connected. Always have been, always will be. Lovely.
Alright, some of you already know about one of these new series, Community Gardening, the first post of which was published this morning. As I wrote in the first post, it occurred to me this weekend that I’ll have many more updates from the community garden, which is why a new series made perfect sense.
I am excited to continue to update you as we move deeper into Spring, and then Summer.
One of the things I love to do where I currently live, Corvallis, Oregon, is hike. I love hiking, especially during the Spring and Summer. The weather in this part of the US is gorgeous during Spring and Summer. Love it.
It occurred to me that a series on hiking the Willamette Valley, then, made sense. I will travel throughout the valley this spring and summer and hike, reflect, and learn more about areas in the valley I’ve not yet visited. And, we can hike, reflect, and learn together through my trips. Fun.
I’ve not come up with a title yet. If you have ideas, please let me know. I’ve already completed my first hike, which was lovely, and will create the first entry in this new series in a week or two.
Vaccinations
Yep, I got my first vaccination dose, well, two Fridays ago now. It was actually a super simple process. I am grateful to all of the people working and volunteering to make the vaccine more and more accessible. Thank you.
Well, as many of you know, I do yoga everyday. Meditation is a step of yoga, which I’ve now practiced for almost 4 years. There are 8 steps in yoga, and while I have been meditating, or practicing Dhyana for years now, I am not as well practiced at body movement with the breath.
Therefore, my life coach and teacher has put me on a very gentle path to increase the movement and blood flow in and to my upper body. It is important that the practice is gentle, as I have two shoulder injuries, which happened some time ago, yet have been exasperated by the pandemic.
Anyway, the point is that I am finding great relief in the practice; and am excited about the movement returning to my shoulders. Awesome.
Develop. Inspire. Transform. 