I once again took to the trees with my lil dog. Today's adventure: Cove Springs. Somehow through the sheer power of being myself, I managed to park in a side parking lot near the archery section rather than the main lot. So I missed quite a few of the more scenic-touristy parts of Cove Springs but that had its perks because I didn't run into many people. 

I did take a photo of the map but mostly relied on just following my dog, Piper, wherever she wanted to go. We were promptly lost. (Apparently, she didn't read the map either). What struck me as we wandered blindly through the park was just how big the Osage trail was. We'd be on Osage trail and then Piper would see a rabbit and we'd dart off on a side path and then somehow we'd connect back to the Osage trail once again.

My favorite part was when Piper led us into the 3d archery range. I'd never actually seen the animal targets in person. It was kinda neat to just be walking and then boom, a plastic bear. I'm glad there weren't any archers around to hear my impromptu song about being lost on the Osage Trail.

A little while back I played a game called, Brocken Picture Phone. It's kinda like Pictionary meets the Telephone Game. One person will come up with a phrase and then someone else will draw it and then someone tries to guess the phrase, and the process keeps going until you run out of players. The results can be pretty spectacular. There was one round in particular that captured my imagination. The phrase I ended up with was "Having lost its cupcake, the werewolf howled forlornly at the moon." It was just so randomly specific and painted such a vivid image in my head. Once the game was over I still couldn't get the image out of my head so I decided I'd draw it in its full glory.

When everything started shutting down a part of me panicked. I couldn't be trapped at home I'd go insane. I need to go out into the world and discover new things! Thankfully, I recently discovered a park near my house. It doesn't seem to be very well known. Each time I've gone I've seen maybe 5 people there total.  I've started calling it my secret park.

​To me my secret park represents freedom. Just knowing it's there makes me feel less trapped. When I need it most there's somewhere to escape. Somewhere to explore and have adventures... I miss having adventures.

The first time I went it was such a relief to just be outside. I wandered around half the park not yet realizing how much more there was to see. The next time I went I found the other half which had trails. The time after that I climbed trees and rocks. Each time I went back I discovered more. There seemed to be just enough to keep me fascinated.

What stood out to me the most was the reflections in the creek. Of course, I almost missed that entirely. I had just finished learning why I shouldn't climb a specific type of rock and had wandered over to the water's edge to clean up when it happened. I was turning around to leave and fell down for seemingly no reason and landed in just the perfect spot. I laughed because at that moment I could practically hear nature telling me to "sit yo ass down."

​I'd landed in an indent just far enough from the edge that I could stretch my feet out without them getting wet. And I just sat there for a bit. I listened to the birds' chirp and the water burble along while staring out at the trees. There were trees beside me, in front of me, and from my vantage point, the reflection made it seem as though they were under me. I was enveloped in trees. There was something so safe and reassuring about that. I started to see the reflections in the water differently. They were reminders of the glory around me and in my imagination possible doorways to a parallel upside-down world. I'm not sure how long I zoned out there feeling swaddled within the trees while imagining far off worlds, but eventually the urge to roam returned as it always does with me. ​I left the park thinking of that moment and anticipating many more like it to come.

"The exact origins of the spoon are murky, though archaeologists do have fossils that assert Neanderthal cultures may have fashioned crude, spoon-like instruments out of sea-shells and animal bones. The first remnant of spoons as we know them were found in the ruins of Ancient Egypt, and harken back to 1000 BC."- Thrillist.com
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I believe that the spoon is an under-appreciated staple of modern life. Which is why I've created a short story demonstrating their importance and documenting their struggles. Read it here.​