A million things have conspired against my getting back out on the trail the last two months, but I finally kicked all their asses to the curb (yes, pneumonia, I’m talking about you) and put my hiking boots on yesterday. Of course, it’s in the mid-90s inland, so we headed to the water. I hiked San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve a little over a year ago. It’s not a long or hard hike, but there’s birds and a breeze, and what more could you ask for when you are totally out of shape and panting in the Southern California heat?
Yup.
You could ask for pretty flowers all over the place…
And a cooler breeze than was found in the inland valleys…
And sure, that’s probably a lot of pollen that is keeping my nostrils all stuffy today…
But there was almost no one else on the path…just a dog and a horse and a small number of people…
And birds…
And long vistas of green and watery bits…
And this egret with a couple of ducks…
It was definitely warmer on the side east of the freeway…
And it’s always a surprise to see pines down in these areas…but there were supposed to be mule deer too, and I’ve never seen them out there…
More pollen for noses. I also have two bug bites and a weird triangular-shaped bit of sunburn from where I didn’t slap sunscreen on my white winter body.
Shady tree-lined paths for part of it…but yes, also some sand to slog through.
Lots of lizards of all types…
And a few big monstrous trees…
Blue skies…and lots of ducks…
Back to the beachy breezes on the west side…
Even a few sandpipers…
5.75 miles from North Rios in Solana Beach to El Camino Real, traveling under Interstate 5…
Yes, the muscles are talking to me today, a day later, and I’m quite glad about that. I feel much better having been out there and used them. Now to keep it up…
Kathy Nida 