Easing Back Into the Daily Practice

For the last three weeks, I've not been particularly rigorous in conducting the daily practice.  I've gotten in a decent attempt at my current set of habits and given the distractions (moving, travel, churn at my current day job, etc.) the efforts haven't been all that bad.  For the first time today, I finally had enough time with enough rest behind it to start missing some of the rigor that's been spent on other, less fruitful, endeavors over the last several weeks.  It things go well, I'm on the cusp of ramping up into full swing on the elements in the very near future.

It's worth listing the activities that I now consider mandatory work toward a more spiritual future.  Generally in the order I acquired them, they are:

1.   Walking
2.   Talking to Rory on the Phone
3.   Landscape/Skyscape Photography
4.   Blogging
5.   Daily Self Portrait
6.   Calisthenics (push-ups, crunches, resistance band curls, plank, flutter kicks)
7.   Meditation
8.   Minimalism
9.   Prayer
10. Saving Money
11. Introducing Myself to One New Person

Another Glorious Day in Fairhope, AL

Considering that less than four years ago I truly believed that I didn't have even a few extra minutes to spare in my busy daily life, this is a pretty good list of habits to have implemented. That said, I believe there are more than a handful more things that should at least be added to this list for a month or two on an experimental basis at least.

I am grateful for the friends I have met, the help I have gotten, and the relationships that have been enhanced by this steady but sure accumulation of habits that have displaced ones of more dubious value as time has marched forward.

I don't know what will happen tomorrow, but I'm going to go search for an alligator, a sunrise, and a sunset if I'm graced with experiencing the dawning of a new day.

Inconveniences

If you can possibly avoid the mistake of misplacing the keys to your rental car, you should. Misplacing the keys to your rental car presents the opportunity to practice patience, kindness, tolerance, peacefulness, and a number of other virtues in trying circumstances. Mostly, you wait on the phone, and the rental car company tries to tell you that you're on your own...good luck in as many words and hours as possible, The car company's trying doesn't end until you give up and call a taxi for a ride back to your hotel.

Thankfully, I was able to see the upside in the situation. The unlicensed cab and limousine company I called sent over a sedan which turned out to be a white 90's Buick that drove me across the causeway for the price of a very nice dinner for one. Sharing the backseat with a walker and two canes that I presume belonged to the driver or his partner was an added bonus.  It's an experience that I won't soon forget.

I did manage to get in some walking today on the Eastern Shore Trail. I took off on foot from the hotel in search of dinner. Since I'd spent my dinner money on a ride, I opted for the slightly less expensive, but equally gastronomically pleasing, "bag o' burritos" from the Taco Bell.  Not bad...not good...not expensive...filling.  Pretty good deal for a person on foot.

I captured the first "sharable" picture of an alligator on the way to my bean stuffed flour tortilla delights. The 'gator, an average sized bugger, was lounging around in D'Olive Creek annoying the fish in his immediate vicinity if they're aerial acrobatics are any real indication.

Alligator - Daphne, AL

I also noticed that the Easter Shore Trail kiosk on US 90 has taken it's second beating in less than a year. Rory Conlan asked me if I thought folks were hitting the trail map shelter on purpose just for the sake of mischief.  I sent him the following picture and explanation.

Eastern Shore Trail Kiosk - Down for the count a second time in a year

Those broken and leaning poles are six inch square pressure treated lumber. There is a broken hubcap, part of a broken windshield, and various other odds and ends that you might find at the scene where violence has been visited on a automobile by something solid and relatively unyielding. If folks are doing this for the sake of mischief, the must be a special kind of joker who likes to perpetrate very expensive (for them or whomever owns the car) acts of very loud vandalism. I'm pretty sure this is happening because folks aren't paying enough attention when rounding the curve that leads up to this point several meters departed from the right lane of the road.

Today I learned a thing or two about the willingness of a certain rental car company's willingness to help you get out of a jam associated with misplaced keys. They're charging you daily rent, and it turns out they're perfectly willing to collect the fee whether you're using their car or it's sitting uselessly in the parking lot at work. Fortunately the keys were located in the back seat of a friend from work who drove us all to lunch. I had managed at that point to extricate myself from the most pressing problem with the application of forty five dollars and without making an angry ass of myself with the folks who were going a pretty far stretch out of their way not to help me. When he called to announce the good news, I was pretty stoked.

You never can tell what lessons life my put in front of you to learn. I'll wake up in the morning an eager pupil with a taste for adventure.

Wrapping Things Up in the South, Evicted from Alabama

Today marks the last full day I'll spend on the Gulf Coast this trip. It's been a pretty good run, and it's time to wrap it up. I saw the first alligator of the season yesterday, and this evening Rory Conlan spotted the first copperhead of his own spring training season. The cherry blossoms have come and gone, the pollen is waning, and the trees down here are fully leafed. I even managed to catch the sun setting behind the Mobile skyline.

Last Evening in Mobile...Till the Next Go Around

I'm grateful for the sunsets I've seen, the miles I've covered, the opportunity to "work the problems," and the laughter of friends. It is hard to imagine that my regular sojourns down to this part of the world are wrapping up. It's been quite a run for a six month temporary assignment that's managed to stretch to eighteen months running. It just goes to show that you can never tell what will be revealed around the corner tomorrow, but you shouldn't worry about it to very much. It's going to be spectacular.

Return of the Alligators

Leaving work a little later than I'd hoped today led to a bit of a rush to get down to the sunset spot along my evening walk that I'd chosen to witness the passing of another day. As these things often do, it worked out for the best because a bit of jogging was required to get into place in a timely manner. This put some stress on the foot, and as far as I can tell, that fifth metatarsal help up under the strain. The view that awaited at the bottom of the top of the hill that I climbed to get there was worth it.

Sunset from Under I-10 - Daphne, AL

This was the view I was "rushing" to see, but just a little farther down the trail, I came upon this one.

Sunset on the Bayou - Daphne, AL

The bayou in this case is the languid outlet of D'Olive Creek in Daphne, AL, and this area has consistently yielded spectacular pictures. Even on breezy days, the wetland that D'Olive Creek meanders through on its path into Mobile Bay is sheltered from all but the most blustery of wind. The combination of marshland, the highway, calm water, and an exception view of the sky bring a serenity and warmth to the passing of the day.

I walked on down the trail, and encountered my first alligator of the season. Floating along down the middle of the creek with an air of indifference, it was like I'd come home to find and old friend waiting to catch up on what had happened over the cold season. The 'gator was a sign that the dark ages of winter were quickly receding in the rearview mirror, and the tropical heat of the Alabama summer was just around the corner. 

The 'gator was a good benchmark on the passage of time, and a symbol of optimism for what the universe may deliver tomorrow. As is my habit, I'm looking forward to seeing whatever may be brought my way.

Travel Day

Today started off with an early trip to the airport for follow-on travel to the Gulf Coast.  While rumors have it that airline travel is not the luxury experience that it used to be, there is some evidence in my mind that this is just revisionist history.  For one, the airports themselves are far more luxurious than they once were, and this change has materialized during my lifetime.

Airplane Sculpture as an Advertisement for an Airport Pub and Restaurant

The airports that are part of my normal routine (just saying that is something to ponder) have become a combination of art and technology museum.  The artwork is fairly diverse including large and small scale sculpture, paintings, drawings, and technology centered art.  The technical displays are largely related to air travel, but it is not unusual to see space, ground transport, and political science displays as well.

This is probably not the most popular opinion, but I really don't mind going to an airport.  Even the Transportation Security Administration seems to have gotten their act together, and it looks like TSA pre-check will be widely available to even the casual traveller.  Lines aren't bad, and again, technology is making a real difference both at the ticket counter, the gates, and yes, the security lines.

It also doesn't hurt one little bit that I can get into and aluminum tube that travels just a little less than 500 mph around 30K feet (that's five miles give or take) and land largely refreshed and ready to go 1200 miles away from where I started in just seven hours.  The fact that this remarkable achievement has happened on a timeline where the first manned powered flight happened four short years before my grandfather's birthday makes the achievement all the more amazing to me.

After a quick hop down to the Gulf Coast, my pace slowed down and pedestrian activity ensued.  You know you may be back in the south when Spanish moss and American Alligator Warning placards begin to appear out of the woodwork. 

Spanish Moss Overhanging the Oak Ridge Trail at Gulf Shores State Park

I stumbled upon this trail after a quick jaunt down to Gulf Shores, AL to see what there was to see.  The walk turned into a 9 mile loop which was about a mile longer than I anticipated but rewarding nonetheless. The trail bordered a wetland, or what most rational people would call a swamp with the requisite warning signs for this type of area in the south.

American Alligator Warning Placard in Gulf Shores State Park

I approve of the advice to resist feeding the alligators. I know I have no desire to become their lunch or even mid afternoon snack.

Sunset happened about a mile before I wanted it to happen, but since stopping the spinning of the planet is not yet in my repertoire revelling in it a bit early seemed like the best option.

Gulf Coast Sunset #1 as Seen from the Middle of a Swamp

Even though I didn't get the full experience because of the swamp surrounding me and blocking my view, the high color of the setting sun seemed worthy of digital capture.

Gulf Coast Sunset #2 as Seen from the Middle of a Swamp

Today was very full, and strung together, it represents another 24 hour chapter in a very fulfilling life.  I'm grateful for the richness of the experience.

On Alligators

I've been coming to work down here on the Gulf Coast fairly regularly since last November.  On one of my regular walking routes down here, there is a small bit of wooden causeway that elevated about 2 or 3 feet above a creek that is famous for hosting easy to view alligators.  Starting in November and lasting all through the winter until the middle of April, I was constantly on the lookout and eagerly anticipating seeing my first "alligator in the wild."  I even went so far as to conduct a bit of internet research on the cool season habits of the American Alligator.

What I learned indicated that it was not unheard of completely, but pretty rare to sight an alligator out of its den until the water temperature had a chance to come up a bit from the high 40 degree Fahrenheit range this area experienced in the winter.  I would probably just have to wait till spring to see my first alligator.

Those facts did not keep me from looking, and they certainly did not tamp down my anticipation very much.  I'd walk, and I'd look.

Eventually, warmer weather rolled in, and I was gifted my first alligator sighting in the middle of April.  Since then, I've become familiar enough with the two that generally hang out in the vicinity of the catwalk to recognize them by sight.  There's a short thin one and a short girthy one with a big head.  I have had only one walk since mid-April where I did not sight one or the other or both.  Today, the short thin one was there lurking around at the base of the bridge.

You can just see his head between the second gap in the closes bridge pilings from the right...not very impressive, I know, but he wasn't cooperating for a close-up photo today, and I like to keep imagery contemporary.

If I keep coming down here, I know that one day this fall both of these guys will crawl back into their holes burrowed out in a bank, and once again I'll be left in the cool of the season without the little burst of adrenaline that sighting an alligator gives me even to this day.  I'll be left with the warnings and the memories until next season when I may get a chance to see them for another round of heat and humidity.

The Warnings

Those are my thoughts today on alligators.