Mountain Thoughts

My son and I took a bit of a walk this morning up our small mountain. We were hoping to get right to the very top, but the mist/fog rolled in just after we left, and that wouldn't have been wise. As it was, we weren't quite sure how high up we were most of the time, although we followed the most direct route heading up the slope. Eventually we turned off on a side road and walked contours and pine-needle paved paths for another hour or so before realizing exactly where we were.

Up there it's a different world. Sure, there's a good deal of tree-cutting happening - the pine forests are being taken out at a rate. But in their place the Cape fynbos is taking over again. There were birds everywhere, flowers on things large and small in every hue imaginable. From the tiniest pin-prick whites to large cerise-pinks, deep blues and brilliant yellows. Insects were out and about in the trees, on the paths, eating flowers. And all around us the view was limited by the mist drifting in between the trees.

At one point we walked through a section where everything was dead-brown. The trees were scorched black on one side from a swift-moving fire that came through a while back, though pine needles had already drifted in to cover the forest floor beneath them again. My camera did a whole lot of work today - good thing I took the extra batteries!

Heading up the mountain I realized I've got a ways to go toward my fitness goals - and toward being able to stride up any mountain while also carrying a load...! But I'm getting there. I've got a very good slope right outside my back door to practice on every day! :-)

But mountains are not just for exercise and the enjoyment of nature. They're good for clearing the head too.

I often find myself doing a quick dash up the contours, sometimes dragging the dogs or the kid along, just to clear my head. If my thoughts start heading in a direction they shouldn't, if I need to be able to work things out a bit, if I simply need a break from too much thinking - the mountain is where I go. Usually with my camera - finding things to photograph takes my mind off many things, gives me a mind-set switch, a brain-drain (oil change?) that has me coming back sorted out. Most times, that is! :-)

I love living at the base of my mountain. To see it change from early morning to evening light, to watch a full moon rise behind it, or a fire sweep across the summit every few years and glow darkly in the night, to note the grip of clouds rushing over the back and down the cliff face - a sure sign you'd better get that washing inside... this is life with a mountain in your back yard. It's a direction finder for the lost, a landmark of strength for the world-weary. A place to rest against and view the world from a different angle. A shelter and a home for all that cling to its slopes.