On this page I will publish posts about what I come across on the trail.
Usually what I find are small bags of dog poop tied off neatly and left on the side of the trail, as if left as offerings. Occasionally there is trash: beer cans and plastic bottles; I lug these to the nearest receptacle. Once I fished an empty whiskey bottle out of the fish ladder below the trail. These are offerings which I don’t care for!
Along with the great natural beauty of this area, I also come across small treasures. There are fabulous snippets of conversation. A few months ago I found a neatly folded hundred dollar bill on the trail and thought for certain that it was counterfeit or a hoax. Surprisingly, it was genuine.
I will report on what I find and what I hear, and I will be delighted to share small treasures with you. That’s no poop! Please join me on these ramblings.
In the meantime, keep to the right unless to pass. Pass with care. If you are walking your dog, please keep your dog leashed and clean up after your dog. If you’re on a bicycle, please slow down because there are dogs, small children, and elderly people on the trail!
Andrew Shattuck McBride, Writer's Blog 
this was funny to read. you might hate me on a trail, since i don’t always stay to the right (partly for foot-drop balance reasons and terrain). BUT, i am also the kind of person that likes to toy with social norms…like how to decide who moves to which side of the trail to pass by a group (i like to pretend i am British on a trail), who gets to take up how much space on a trail, etc.; i remind bicyclists that they ought to “trail call”, too. i also prefer dogs off leash, even if i don’t know them, since they are friendlier that way and i can acknowledge their spirit.
we must take up the space we were born to inhabit and how we do (or don’t) do this while walking on sidewalks and trails shows who we are in the world. this is a great musing here, love it, you take up space well 🙂 …thank you!
Tsena!
You’ve found one of my pet peeves… (sorry….) LOL
Good to know. I wrote this post mainly for safety reasons and to note some of the extraordinary things I’ve found on and along the trail and some of the things I’ve overheard while walking or hiking. I wrote “First Blush” after I overheard a wonderful comment about Artist Point. It’s posted here, under “Samples.”
Social norms should be tested and played with!
Walking and swimming may be out. We may have to stick with poetry and writing and mini Literary Salons….
Blessings to you and yours, Andy
no way, i’ll get you swimming someday. and long walks are the best times to read poetry aloud, in my opinion.
Ha! I’m not allowed near swimming pools–I am blindingly pale and scare children.
Walks, though. Perhaps. Poetry at the rest stops…definitely.
Do you recite poetry? Samuel Green can recite hundreds of poems. Amazing!
recite poetry? as in read other poets work aloud–sure, yeah! not by memory, though. i am waiting for your next poem / post, btw… 😉
Hi Tsena,
OK. No, I can’t recite from memory. I enjoy reading other poets’ poems and my poems out loud.
Thank you for this. Here’s my newest: it’s raw and painful. “Self-Portrait with Lawn, Scissors, and Someone Else’s Father Just Home from Viet Nam.”
I hope you’re happy and well.
Sincerely, and all the best, Andy