Picture(s) of the Day – “A Hidden Gem” (And an update!)

For those of you following along with my recent life events, you will notice that I am here in the middle of a work day sharing photos I snapped only hours ago. Like this one, for example:

Could it be any prettier? Nature’s paint brush… am I right?

Anyhow, you might deduce that I am not at work, which is true.

I could go into a diatribe about how the circumstances I shared with you over the weekend unfolded but it’s not a riveting story, believe me. The only thing I *will* say about it all is that I honestly believe it was destined-to-be for reasons I don’t yet understand. Story of my life, I know. But also, in my defence (as if I needed defence), I was not the only person to leave. A young friend/co-worker tried to go in – though he, like me, was very concerned about a few things – and made it a grand total of 1.5 days. He walked out today. It’s nice (if that’s even the appropriate word here) to have validation that my concerns were warranted, though in truth I already had it elsewhere. Still, yeah, not gonna lie… I breathed a little easier knowing I was not alone.

So, how’m I feeling about it? Well, it’s been said… in fact, only seconds ago in the paragraph above >>> There must be something else for me out there.

I’m trying to keep a stiff upper lip (to go along with my nearly-frozen shoulder, my knees and my back). Ha.

Anywho.

I went out for a drive today… you know, to clear my mind a bit. I picked up a Peppermint tea from our local coffee house (drive-thru only) and started driving to who-knew-where because I didn’t “know where”… when it suddenly occurred to me that I’d heard about some woods in our neck of the… uh… woods.

And so, I went in search…

Once I’d made up my mind that *this* is where I wanted to go, it felt like a string was pulling Ruby (my car, remember?) and me. I didn’t know exactly where I was going but once I found it, I felt like a weight had been lifted.

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I’ve been on a tree/forest kick lately. (The most current posts HERE will tell you about what’s been going on.) I’ve wanted to find… not just a tree here and there but a forest full of them … to learn from… and today, I did!

You may wonder if they’re actual woods. Yes. With a park built around and into them. There are huge picnic areas, too.

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I got out of the car and walked around a bit… wasn’t dressed for it, though. I was wearing my orthopaedic flip-flops. <<< Yeah, I know it’s fall but the weather has been so lovely and I’d just thrown on my usual work-from-home costume of yoga pants and a tee. Well, with a sweater/hoodie because it’s kind of cool. Okay, I know. You don’t have to tell me. I could have looked around a bit more had I worn my athletic orthopaedics. <<< HAHAHAHAHA. Yes, it’s true. Ahem.

I drove every road through the park I could, which is a good thing because once the snow flies, part of it (if not all) will be closed until next Spring.

Here’s the thing. I kinda always knew it was there – but NOT. I mean, I’ve heard of it… but… somehow, never went. This isn’t the first time something like this has happened… and it brings up (of course!) a story:

I moved to Canada in November, 2000 – yep, twenty years ago! – and one of the first things I got to do was join my husband on a “Spirit Walk”. I’d never done anything like it before and I gotta tell you it was SPECTACULAR. It was held at night and started by meeting together for apple cider around a wood stove. We were then led to a forest… much like the one I visited today… and scenes/ vignettes were set up in clearings with actors depicting historic events that took place in the area. I remember one was a boxer in the early 1900s, another was someone who was on the Titanic and there was something medical. There were about eight of these small plays. OMG, I’ve talked about this ever since because it was that wonderful.

The following year, I really wanted to do it again or at least, something like it. I waited for my husband to tell me because he had planned the one the year before. He worked for a newspaper and saw things like this first. That year, however, he didn’t say anything and the dates to join (late Oct/ early Nov) were gone. I was so disappointed. I didn’t say anything at first… in fact, I only shared my disappointment with a few friends online. One of them said, “Why didn’t you ask him to plan it?” I said I didn’t want to bother him. She then said the magic words: “Why didn’t you plan it yourself?”

Indeed.

I’ve thought of those words many times… like today, for instance. Why? Because I said to my husband… oh, a few weeks ago… that I wished we lived by a forest. He said, “Well, there’s that one…”

WTF? <<< That was my immediate thought, followed by this: He knows how I feel about forests … especially now… why didn’t he remind me before now?

Folks… I tell ya… just when I think I’m getting somewhere with my emotional health I go and think something like what I shared above.

We have passed the sign for the woods a million times. Not joking. We’ve lived in this city since 2003. It says to turn this way for the “Woods”. Literally. And yet, in all my years of driving and searching for photos and sweet spots all over the region… I never went there.

Well, until today.

So, there you have it. Me, being a clunky, weird human and wife. I’m so low-maintenance in many ways… not one for diamonds and gold over here… but SUPER high-maintenance in some other ways, eh? Luckily, I’m not totally lost. I figured it out. These photos are my proof!