A "Veery" Good Day

Badmoon and I took a nice walk on the trails around Indian Brook Reservoir late this afternoon. I always carry my pack these days. It is full of rice and cans of soup and water. I had the cat food in there but they needed to eat.
You know how they say good things come in threes? Well, at Hikeu we know that feeling good is good, and that good things happen to those of us who feel good! It is amazing how simple that sounds and how it simply works. But I digress...
First, I discovered a "new-to-me" wildflower. Hard to imagine after hiking thousands of miles and spending so much time in the woods that this little beauty escaped me, but it did. Had to come home to look it up. Gaywings. (above) So delicate and intricate. Like a little plane without a tail.
Then, we ran into two of my good friends out for an afternoon stroll...Mary Beth and Sandi. I see them quite a bit, but I was so thrilled to see them in this different place that I didn't know who to hug first. So I just grabbed them both.
Finally, I heard my first veery call of the year. I discovered the call of a veery on my Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2001. I was hiking with Lightkeeper. He knew all kinds of things about plants, flowers, birds and trees too. I seem to recall they called him "Bark Boy" at some point in his life. Was it boy scouts, LK? He introduced me to lots of cool stuff during the 700 miles or so we hiked together, and the call of the veery was one of the most memorable for me. That and one night we perfected Jiffy Pop over an alcohol stove! There is nothing like the simple memories of life on the Trail. When all the "noise" is removed from life, there is a child-like purity that emerges. If your lucky, that kid in you never goes away again!
Another day in paradise!