Annual Rhythms, Rides, And Migrations

I went on a long ride last night, the "Tour of Bardin" I would call it: Bellamy Road, George's Lake, Bardin, Caraway Church Road, and Etoniah State Forest. I looked long and hard for the Bardin Booger, but did not see him (I know you want more information on this, just google it for yourself). Long rides open my mind and allow a lot of time to think about a lot of things. Last night the thoughts were familiar. I observed Chickasaw plum in bloom and thought about the drive back to Utah. I tried to compose a haiku, but remembered that I did that last year at this time. Annual rhythms coming full circle, these are proof of middle age (reading glasses, Ctrl +, too). This morning I looked at a blog post from January 30, 2008. I've copy/pasted it below to force you to re-read it. "Welcome to Redundancy Theater, again."

There is a great article about Matsuo Basho in February's National Geographic. Basho was a haiku poet in 17th century Japan. A Zen Buddhist, he embarked on spiritual journeys walking around Honshu "shedding all worldly belongings and casting fate to the winds...paying heed to nature's modest drama." I started reading Basho's poetry and prose in 1988. My poetry here in this blog is inspired by his work. Riding a bicycle is a spiritual journey for me, my Buddhist path, slow enough to observe the fleeting ephemeral essence of the natural world and my own life.

We begin another journey today. We are packing up to head back to Logan. We should be on the road for 6 or 7 days. Leaving my Florida home rips me right in half. This place is in my heart; it is part of me. More than just familiar, it is what I know. Florida's ecosystems have become deeply rooted in my soul.

Our journey begins
As the Chickasaw plums bloom
There's sand in my shoes

The blog posts from last January were all really good. Here is a post worth re-reading. The part about the economy is quite prophetic.

Yes, I still owe you a rant about our autocentric world. Stay tuned.