Winter trees. Come on April!
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Beautiful 
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-15 C and sunshine. I’m not a fan of snow, but it is really beautiful when the sun makes the snow sparkle.
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Was sunny today so went for another hike. Here are a few pics. Nature is my place for meditation and reflection!
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Thanks, Laura. My walks & hikes truly are meditation for me, and taking pictures is an exercise in mindfulness and being in the present moment. It’s amazing what you notice when you’re sober!!! 
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The river is frozen over !?
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It’s frozen and snowed over. I doubt it’s ground frozen, but It think I could walk on it. I’m not trying in case I’m wrong about that 
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Because @Dazercat asked, my avatar…
But first, rocks. Some of my favourite things ever. So many, so varied. Just like us.
This rock, home to pebbles that water wore into its surface. From backpacking the West Coast Trail with Dad - years ago now.
Moving around more the last decade has helped curb my desire to fill my pockets with them. (Packing rocks from home to home… who does that?) Besides, I think they mostly like to stay where they are. I only take a few with me now.
I gave my favourite rock, the most unique rock I’ve ever found, to a boy – well, a man. The rock came from the above beach, the last part of a hike to the remains of a shipwreck. I don’t regret giving him the rock, but I learned there are differences in what each of us value…
Last June, a troubling time in my world and the world, when the restrictions eased up enough, I drove 500km and met my best pal and her teenage daughter for a long-awaited hug and few days of hiking. We made our way to the foot of a receding glacier, the teenager setting hiking records, me ogling rocks, and my pal in between us.
This orange heart rock sat on a small boulder. I picked it up, a little larger than my hand. Put there by another hiker for me to find? I don’t know. I set it back down and snapped its pic. Left it there to tell its story to others as it did to me that day: You are loved. You belong. There’s a place for you here. For all of us. 
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Aww. Thank you for your cool story. You’re such an amazing person. And I’m having fun picturing you stopping off and looking at each rock and your friend in between you and her teenager, who’s scaling the mountain at lightening speed.
Thanks.
It been a really long time since I’ve pocketed a rock for my sister.
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The enlarged pic is nice to see with these old eyes.
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That’s a lovely story!
Recognize myself in it, always have my eyes on the ground while walking. Love rocks too!
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Thank you! Then this pic is for you, from a few years ago. A sign that spring may one day come again and we can go back to oohing and aahing over rocks! 
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@M-be-free49 and Claudia same! As I kid I had a rock collection and when we moved I was instructed to keep one small bucket…it was torture having to choose! I brought a few favorites with me from my time in the desert when I move back to the Midwest. And shell gathering on the beach? Forget it! Came home from a trip to Florida with a few extra pounds in my luggage!
Edit: M thanks for sharing that lovely story. I also moved on (mostly) to appreciating those serendipitous scenes in nature and maybe snapping a photo these days.
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I relate, relate, relate! It just seems so “normie” to me…! 
Edit: yes, @RosaCanDo, me too. But sometimes, a rock still seems to say “c’mon, i can take it. i know i’ll be giving to the greater good if i’m sitting on your desk or window sill, keeping part of your mental space in the place where you found me, helping you not to lose your sh*t on zoom work calls…” !
thank you, rocks
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Yes to that! I am looking forward to getting out this spring and summer and exploring the driftless area here, as it’s called, and all the streams with water that trickles down from north of us. Gotta be some good rock hunting out there and I’m sure one will call my name to join the others on top of my piano or on my desk 
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