If you crawl under a rock and die...

Once in a while, I get the feeling that I'd like to just crawl under a rock and die.

But if you crawl under a rock and die, you will never get to swim in cool, fresh water again. Nor sit in the shade of a hackberry tree and watch the river go by. You will not watch with joy the little yellow warblers flying through the willows on the riverbank. Or feel a cold, wet dog's nose, followed by little wake-up kisses, so gentle, on your eyelids in the morning.

Yesterday, we rode our bicycles to Pinehurst Conservation Area and went swimming. It is one of the parks of Rob's childhood, so we spent the day re-visiting some memorable campsites and trails. We ate a picnic lunch under some big old white pines and oak trees and explored the gorgeous Carolinian forest. It's amazing to me that we can ride our bikes for just a couple of hours and end up in a place with noticeably different flora from our own. Notably, there were a lot of large shagbark hickories, some pawpaw trees, and various flowering plants that I am not accustomed to seeing daily. It was cool! We saw a little wood frog, a brown thrasher and a few butterflies but not much else in terms of fauna. It was a holiday Monday, so the park was busy but the roads were mercifully quiet.

I was pretty beat on the way home and thought that perhaps I'd be miserable today because I had to get up at 5:30 to go to the coffee booth at the market. But I feel okay today, despite the long ride yesterday. Except for this faint, lingering feeling of wanting to crawl under a rock and die. Other than that, and a slightly sore cycling ass, everything is a-okay.