Spur of the Moment

Not everything has to be planned out, but it is usually easier when it is.

There are times that I want to know exactly where I am going or what is expected of me, and there are times when I want it to all be spontaneous.  I like the adventure of spontaneity.

When we travel, we sometimes combine the two approaches.  We generally have a definite destination in mind with an expected time of arrival, but we often leave the details to spur-of-the-moment decision-making.  "Oh, look, there's a rabbit!" -- or maybe it was a squirrel.  Making a U-turn to capture a photo is not an uncommon occurrence for us.

The other day we decided to explore our neighborhood a bit.  Since recently moving to the area we wanted to get better acquainted with our surroundings.  There is a large lake to the west of us, and we wanted to check out the amenities and look for where we might be able to launch a canoe once we deemed the weather was conducive to that activity.

As we traveled along the backcountry roads, we saw a large patch of wildflowers and decided to make a record of their ephemeral appearance.  We found ourselves wandering for longer than expected as our vehicle sat parked on the side of the road while we went from bright-colored blossom to bright-colored blossom using the iNaturalist application on our phones to photograph and identify the various species.  Several of them have been used in posts on this blog.  Today will be another.  It is a species of Larkspur in the genus Delphinium.

There are about 300 different species within the genus which was named for Chios (Delphinium) which was an ancient Greek city.  There was also a Roal Navy ship, the HMS Delphinium.  The plants are often cultivated for their beauty, but they are very toxic to humans although butterflies love them.

Empty Places

Deep within each of us resides a longing for something beyond ourselves.  We rise from our slumber out of habit, or because we desire survival, or because we are filled with an eagerness for the day; something draws us that we may not understand, but is there nevertheless as a constant lure just beyond the edge of our awareness.

I am drawn to empty places.  I smell the dust rising from the grasses as I pass quietly in quest of what lies just beyond -- just beyond the next hill, or tree, or ravine that I must cross; just beyond the mountain, or valley, or whatever lies ahead because in my passage I am pulled onward to discovery.  The place to which I am drawn must lie over the next horizon where it ever awaits my arrival.  My journey through the empty places relieves the tiredness of the world that has seeped into my bones and replaces it with the fatigue of effort.

That which compels me is not a place of ease where I might sit in comfort for it is in those places the energy seeps from me and I feel life fading, but where there is struggle and challenge and a battle that pits my wits against the elements, I am energized.  Vitality springs from the earth and fills me with the desire to succeed -- to live.  Life begets life.

I was made to move forward.  Stagnation and decay occur in motionless inactivity.

Rise from your easy chair and set foot into the world where adventure awaits -- if not in your front yard, just over the next hill.  Overcome your lethargy and seek life in abundance.

Venturing Forth

From behind my guarded walls

I peer into the distance

Where enemies abound

And opportunity awaits.

Dare I venture forth

Into the great unknown

Where I might fall before the powers

Who seek to slay me there?

Or, do I wait behind my walls

Until the day I die

Alone and afraid

Of that which I might have conquered?

Step forth into the world

With eyes wide;

Armored in Truth,

Shielded with Faith.

Ephesians 4:10-18

A Country Road

Let me off the highway

On some old country road

Away from all the cars and trucks

That carry many load

Of freight to destinations unknown.

I prefer my unknown to be

What's just around the bend

And I don't want to hurry

As down the road I send

My thoughts toward the next adventure.

I've found adventure to be a

State within my mind

That I might stumble into

As if I'm deaf and blind

Until it springs to wake me from my sleep

Which is the sleep of one who

Blindly follows the same trail

As everyone else in this old world

Whose destiny it is to fail

To escape the ordinariness of existence.

I don't want a life of being ordinary

But, instead want something different

That when I leave this old world

Will have been one well spent

In making it a better place.

Needing Adventure

I think all of us long for adventure and yet we struggle to let go of the security of the known.  We dream of faraway places and interesting encounters and yet we daily go about the routine sameness of our lives.  Part of that is a financial issue, or is it?  Making it a financial issue says we are comfortable we can support ourselves and family within a familiar framework but, are unsure of doing so outside that known situation.

Adventure doesn't have to be a "vacation" to somewhere, it can be a life, or career, that takes us to those interesting places and situations as part of our vocational calling.  Think of Marco Polo.  He was a Trader and Merchant.  Think of Billy Graham who travelled the world following his calling.

Why do I think we all long for adventure?  We are enthralled by television shows, movies and books that depict the adventurous life of others.  I've always been a big James Bond fan -- "Bond, James Bond."  I think a lot of others must be too or there wouldn't have been so many movies about him made through the years.  I also enjoy Indiana Jones and Star Wars and the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings movies.  Those movies all are wildly popular and appeal to people across many walks of life.  They are adventures which essentially pit good against evil.

When I was a kid it was Westerns.  I've mentioned before that Roy Rogers was my hero.  I also enjoy John Wayne movies -- especially the Westerns and the War movies.  They were hero movies.  They were adventures.  They certainly weren't the angst ridden introspective monstrosities depicting some perceived social injustice that seem to get the awards these days.  Why do people watch those things?  Are we so guilt-ridden in our affluence that we seek to purge the devils within by sympathizing with causes depicting abnormality as normal?

I try to make a little adventure happen upon occasion.  I guess that's why I still do what might be considered stupid things -- like crossing the creek in the Polaris in the mud and several inches of water at a higher speed than necessary.  I'm old enough I should be acting staid and stolid (you might want to look it up -- it means calm and dependable) instead of like a 29 year old who is still trying to figure out which way is up.

Most folks delay the "adventures" until after they have established their "security" which equates to financial security.  The problem is, many never reach a level of financial security which allows for the world travel and adventures to occur and they are too old when they do to step very far outside their comfort zone when it happens.

Have I taken my own advice through the years?  Probably not, but I have read a lot of books that take me there vicariously....oh, well.

Some Days Are an Adventure

New puppy. Yep, you saw the other posts. Well, today he was going to go to work with me but that got changed -- about 2 miles from the house. I decided to take the day off and renovate the canine accommodations to accommodate the puppy. I worked my tail off.

After making a list of needed items (and checking it twice by the way) I headed to Amarillo to pick them up. It was an uneventful trip and I had no problems getting what I needed. On the way back home I took an alternate route and about 3 miles before I made it home I saw a little old lady standing anxiously beside her car on the shoulder of the road. The hood was up and the doors were open. She was looking back up the road, straining as though she was trying to see something. I pulled over to help.

It seems that her 80 year old husband had trekked down to Palo Duro Creek to try and get some water to refill their radiator that had boiled over. She was worried about him because he had been gone a long time. It was only about 150 yards down a steep embankment, through head high weeds to the creek. I couldn't see him so I headed off to find him. About the time I got to the creek, he came climbing out. No, he hadn't fallen in, he had been hunting for something to get some water in. He had a trash bag with a couple of gallons of water in it. I helped him get up the hill while I carried the water. He was fine but winded and definitely tired from his climb.

We got the water into his radiator and everything seemed to check out but I suggested and he agreed, that he needed a mechanic to look it over. So I led him into town to a mechanic. Everything seemed to be fine when I left him.

So, back to my canine accommodation renovation project. It took all day. About 4:00 I realized that I needed one more item to complete things, so I headed into town to get what I needed. Of course it wasn't to be found, so I headed toward Amarillo.

About a mile north of the Canyon city limits, in heavy traffic northbound to Amarillo, a deer decided to cross the highway. I saw it coming across the southbound lanes and slowed. It bounded over the concrete divider just in front of me and right into the grill of the SUV that was travelling in the right-hand lane. A high school kid was driving. The glass flew, his grill flew, his hood flew up in front of his windshield, the deer flew -- in fact, I thought it was going to land in the back of my pickup. He made it to the side of the road and I pulled over to see how he was. He was shaken up but OK. Another vehicle stopped and checked on him while I called 911. The local police were there in less than 5 minutes followed a few minutes later by a firetruck and emergency vehicle. A little overkill on the response but impressive anyway. The local police officer was concerned about touching the deer without gloves so I drug the little 4-point buck in the velvet out of the highway while he watched. They just took my name and phone number and I headed on to Amarillo to get my part.

Dark-thirty and project virtually completed. One minor detail that must wait until daylight. Tired and worn out, I took young Duke (new puppy) out for his evening stroll and relief. I was leading him on a leash. He decided to run circles around me. I tripped and stepped on his leg. Tomorrow he goes for his cast. I felt sick. Just the thing to top off this day of adventure.