May 7, 1997 (Day 49 – milepoint 543. 1 – Lick Creek)

At sunrise, a whippoorwill landed on the picnic table just outside the shelter and sang her song. LOUD and relentlessly. She finally flew away when Bulldog threw a shoe in her general direction, but then returned five minutes later to wake us again. I wondered if this happens every morning at this shelter.

If your alarm clock does a poor job waking you up, get a pet whippoorwill! Woodpeckers and owls are good too, I’ve found.

I hiked today with Easy Chair, Fruitcake, Breeze, Red Top, and Bulldog. Great group of folks. We had lunch on a hill overlooking some beautiful farmland. My favorite color today is green (replacing my usual favorite, clear). Many sharply distinct shades of green across the grassy fields and the trees are filling with leaves. Mmm, and the smell of honeysuckle.

Saw lots of cows today and we had a funny debate at lunch about the quality of a cow’s life. I myself have mixed feelings about the prospect of being a cow. On one hand, it seems a bit boring. Not much physical activity or social life. A pretty limited vocabulary and a definite limit on your choice of food. Cows are female so I’m not sure how I would deal with that. What about a love life? Bulls don’t seem to be much on conversation and they have such short tempers.

On the other hand, there is value in simplicity. Lunch time is ALL THE TIME! That’s appealing. When you “gotta-go” there’s no digging holes or searching for a toilet, you just go. And just about anything that happens that doesn’t involve eating or going would be extraordinary and would therefore be interesting and entertaining.

Do cows hold answers to the universe that we lesser humans cannot comprehend?

Not likely. But life is still uncertain.

Aquaholic

May 7, 2009

Simplicity is the nature of great souls.