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Writer's pictureHilda Van Netten

Knoxville Rd./Jamieson Rd. Hike

I think today's hike deserves a little Mary Oliver:


“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.


Even though it was raining and was forecast to be raining all day, 7 undaunted hikers showed up for the Knoxville Road hike. They must love hiking.


I've made a quick sketch because I want to remember this route. Beauty to no end this morning.



We parked at the Knoxville Cemetery. A beautiful bench in the cemetery. How thoughtful.




My favourite hiking buddy looked like he was wondering why he'd said "yes" to this adventure.




Warning: this post's pictures might be a little off. Carrying an umbrella and working a camera while hiking in the rain is a little tricky. Trees may be blocking farmhouses.




Good conversations always happen on our hikes.


Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.




Can you see the raindrops falling straight down against the backdrop of the wheat field? They look like little white sticks.


Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.




One of our sponsors today is the scent of lilacs. If I'd been walking this route on my own, I may never have made it around the block. There were so many stunning lilac bushes all along the way.




A second sponsor was clamouring for its place in today's post: the sound of raindrops on an umbrella.


Can you hear it?




Poison ivy is flourishing in this part of the county.




There was one short steep hill near the beginning and then a few nice ones like the one below. You hardly notice you are walking up a hill when it is solid lilacs on both sides. It's like walking in heaven.




In the distance, mist was rising from low areas.




Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.



No wild geese this morning, but tree swallows nesting in house #5.



Northumberland County is full of surprises. There is water in the most unexpected areas. Dig a pond and it will probably stay full.




Lilacs continued to embellish our walk coming around on Jameison.




I am glad we stepped out in the rain this morning. It was a lovely hike with lovely folks. And, it looks like Ted is glad he went too!


Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.”



And, I learned something this morning. I thought this orange "thing" on the Eastern Red Cedar/juniper was its flower. How wrong I've been all these years. It's Cedar-Apple Rust Fungi.


So much more interesting than a flower.



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