safety

But if you judge safety to be the paramount consideration in life you should never, under any circumstances, go on long hikes alone. Don’t take short hikes alone, either – or, for that matter, go anywhere alone. And avoid at all costs such foolhardy activities as driving, falling in love, or inhaling air that is almost certainly riddled with deadly germs. Wear wool next to the skin. Insure every good and chattel you possess against every conceivable contingency the future might bring, even if the premiums half-cripple the present. Never cross an intersection against a red light, even when you can see all roads are clear for miles. And never, of course, explore the guts of an idea that seems as if it might threaten one of your more cherished beliefs. In your wisdom you will probably live to be a ripe old age. But you may discover, just before you die, that you have been dead for a long, long time.

-Colin Fletcher, from The Complete Walker

walkin'

What can be bad about a song about walkin' ... and love?

under the category of...

things you may need to know someday -- if you're lucky:

easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

cannonball

Another one for the summer soundtrack:

tribute

gin, rocks, olive.

field notes

To be honest, I just wanted to find another way to see the rain this morning.  To want it as it fell -- heavy and laced with the exotic perfume of the oregano that is growing over the walk, its battered leaves giving up their faintly bitter history to the torrent.  Now that it has stopped I can hear the birds again.  And the lonely cricket who has taken up residence in our basement.  

song for summer

This one makes me think of riding around, circa mid-1970s, with my teenaged aunts in their shared Mustang.  I don't quite remember, I think it was green and it seems like it had only AM radio -- but I can easily recall the smell that black vinyl seats get when they heat up in summer sun, and the way the backs of your legs sizzle when you slide over them.