Last Walk Without a Camera

I walk two miles total today, up and down the stretch of the SRT between Old Roe Ford Road and Duncan Chapel Road, starting at about 9:15 am and ending right at 10 am. It is terribly overcast as I begin, but the haze lifts as I finish, revealing a beautiful cloudless morning. The temperature is between 55 and 60 degrees. The haze makes it appear that it is extremely humid, but my breathing isn't really affected. There are no observable shadows on the trail, but there is lots of contrast in the foliage, even in the shorter growth just to the side. I can easily spot the colors of small wildflowers amid the native greenery. I feel like it is a perfect spring day – good temp to be out, lots of activity on the trail, native trees in bloom, all my favorites.

I can easily see a first painting in the works today. My focal point will be the entry to Furman’s campus at the north end of Swan Lake, coming from the Old Roe Ford Road side. The site is landscaped with boulders, small trees not yet adorned with flowers or leaves, and, most importantly to me, a small green sign indicating mileage to downtown Greenville for hikers and bikers. Measuring distance on the trail has been a challenge; I’ve searched the trail map, used Google Maps, added and subtracted as I see mile markers midway, and relied most heavily on signs to specific landmarks. I’m starting to make a little better sense of it. But, for someone whose excellent sense of direction has always been a mystery to my friends, it’s disconcerting not to have a better feel for where I am.

I begin to take note of things that I could add to that point on the trail to build a composite picture of this morning: the dogwoods I love blooming deep in the woods, the deep red of a thistle opening at my feet, violet wildflowers on slender stems, tiny pale yellow blooms on vines, the dusty blue berries of mahonia, and the glossy greens of magnolia leaves contrasted next to the more highly textured leaves of cedar. I make the commitment to walk this stretch every day for a week so that I can concentrate on getting the photos I need, especially at this point in the spring.

There is a lot more bird activity in this stretch, too. Anyone who knows Furman’s beautifully landscaped campus will understand the opportunities for songbirds to feed in this area. I see my first cardinals and mockingbirds of the week. As I approach the overgrown field across from The Woodlands, I can pick out the individual voices of four crows engaged in a heated discussion. Suddenly, a pair of small birds flies right in front of me, mating in mid-air. How is it that I’ve never known that birds do that?

And a second idea for a painting occurs to me, as well. Something fun that perfectly reflects my concern over taking “furtive” photos of trail users. It seems that Sunday mornings are the perfect time for this particular idea.