walkin on fallen trees: storm damage

[197] walkin on fallen trees: storm damage, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

recent straight line winds have been toppling trees everywhere. this tree is lying across the blue trail. it has to be at least 4 or 5 feet in diameter [12.5 to almost 16 feet in circumference]. fun tree to walk on.

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trilobites

trilobites, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

250 million-year-old fossils. seen at the memphis mineral, fossil and jewelry show.

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trail glove 01: day one

[189] trail glove 01: day one, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Day one with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove. I feel like a kid at Christmas! My Trail Gloves came in and I hit the trail at lunchtime. I ran 3.5 miles on the blue and yellow trails of the Lucius Burch Natural Area and it was awesome! I haven't run these trails in years... since I started barefoot hiking. It's easy to avoid obstacles in the path while hiking, but running is whole different ballgame. Sometimes you just don't have enough advance notice to step around a root or a pebble when your running. But now.... I have Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves.

These are the coolest shoes. Here are just a few of reason I like them:
[01] I love to hike barefooted, and these shoes are the closest thing to barefooted that I have found.
[02] They fit like a glove, but not tight. They fit snuggly against my feet, with no slippage.
[03] They are extremely light weight at 6.2 ounces.
[04] They are extremely flexible. I can twist them into a ball.
[05] The mesh upper is breathable. It feels like air-conditioning as I'm running the trail.
[06] The shoes are zero-drop [same thickness at the toes as at the heel], so I feel like I'm running barefooted.
[07] The Vibram soles flex and bend with my feet. I can feel the trail beneath them. It cushions the rocks, roots and other obstacles, but I still feel a connection with the trail.
[08] The are easy to get on and off.
[09] No socks required.
[10] They look like shoes... not awkward or weird!

Merrell, you did good!

Argon[one]

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trail glove 02: running trails

trail glove 02: running trails, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Day one with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove.

Argon[one]

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trail glove 03: hiking trails

trail glove 03: hiking trails, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Day one with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove.

Argon[one]

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trail glove 04: walking on small trees

trail glove 04: walking on small trees, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Day one with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove.

Argon[one]

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trail glove 05: walking on big trees

trail glove 05: walking on big trees, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Day one with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove.

Argon[one]

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trail glove 06: traversing bridges

trail glove 06: traversing bridges, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Day one with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove.

Argon[one]

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trail glove 07: traveling gravel paths

trail glove 07: for traveling gravel paths, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

This has been a guided tour of my first adventure with the Merrell Barefoot Trail Glove... a great multi-purpose shoe.

-- Argon[one]

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the grace card

Tonight my wife and I went to see The Grace Card. We had heard comments about the movie. Some saying the acting was a little bit cheesy. Some saying the storyline was predictable. Some saying the message was powerful. Well, all three "some says" are correct. Some of the acting was little bit cheesy, and the storyline was predictable, but my wife and I didn't go with preformed expectations. We went to hear the message and it was powerful. We live and work in the Memphis area. Just like many other large metropolitan areas, there are still divisions among its people. There are still times of tension and times of anxiety but there is also hope for the future. We could say that the generation of our children is making progress, but our generation has made progress as well. I remember growing up in the fifties and sixties [especially the sixties] and there was a tremendous amount of anger and tension. My father never learned grace. I could have grown up to be like him, but my mother was very graceful. She taught all her children to look beyond the anger. Understand the anger and the tension. Meet it head on with prayer and grace and understanding [not judgment]. My mother is 93 now and suffers from dementia. She can't remember anything that happened five years ago or ten minutes ago. When she reads her Bible, she forgets what she read almost as soon as she reads it. But she remembers the past in vivid detail. She remembers the hard times we had as a family when my siblings and I were young. She also remembers that God brought us through it all. She lived [and still lives] the words of Ephesians 2: 8. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

So practice grace, experience grace with your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, strangers, foes, those you like and those you must learn to like, those that are easy to love and those who are not, Play the grace card. Pray for one another daily, ask forgiveness, grant each other the same, and be a friend.

shadow with tripod

[187] shadow with tripod, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

until about a year ago, i carried just about the least expensive, light weight tripod i could find at wal-mart or traget. i found that those tripods wore out quickly and i would have to buy another one in 3 or 4 months. i took a field trip to a real camera store and discovered the manfrotto line of tripods. most of them are in the $150 to $300 price range, but i found one manfrotto tripod that is just perfect. it's the compact MKC3. it cost around $70 and it works just as well now as it did when i bought it about a year ago. i can use this one tripod for my all three cameras: the sony cybershot, the canon sx210 is, and the canon digital rebel xti.

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walkin on fallen trees: natural bridge

[185] walkin on fallen trees: natural bridge, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

this tree was uprooted last month during a major storm in our area. straight line winds of near 100mph came screaming through, wreaking havoc along the way.

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standing among the shadows

[184] standing among the shadows, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

I'm rather excited about a pair of shoes that I just ordered yesterday from Merrell. If you have been following me for a while on Flickr or Blogspot you know that I really enjoy barefoot hiking. I used to get looks of askance quite often as I hiked the local trails, but I've noticed that me hiking on the same trails with people wearing shoes doesn't seem to bother anyone anymore. I attribute this change to Merrell, Nike, Altra and other companies who have been promoting barefoot running and shoes which mimic barefoot running and hiking with their minimalist approach.

My wife got me a pair of Nike Free Run shoes for Christmas and they are soooo comfortable. They are very light and the soles are extremely flexible. I love wearing the Free Runs. I've been reading about minimalist shoes a lot lately and have discovered a couple of great ones. One is The Adam by Altra. It's not available to the general public until next month, but it is a true minimalist running shoe. I want a pair. Merrell also has a great shoe called the Barefoot Trail Glove, and that's the ones I ordered. I tried on a pair of them the other day and they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. They only weigh 6.2 ounces, are so flexible that you can fold them into a ball, fit like a glove and have zero drop on the sole. That means the sole is the same thickness at the toe as it is at the heel. It's like hiking or running barefooted, except with a Vibram sole.

So you might not see as many barefoot hiking pictures once the Trail Gloves arrive. Heck, I might even start trail running again. I gave that up a few years ago when I started barefoot hiking, but this could be the beginning of a whole new chapter! Wish me luck.

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far more

[182] far more, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.

-- John Muir

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it gave us a glimpse of the possibility

[181] it gave us a glimpse of the possibility, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

The thing the sixties did was to show us the possibilities and the responsibility that we all had. It wasn't the answer. It just gave us a glimpse of the possibility.

-- John Lennon

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sustainable world

[180] sustainable world, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.

-- Nelson Mandela

I love this quote by Nelson Mandela. I got to see him in person several years ago when he won the International Freedom Award.

Sooo.... living in a sustainable world means change. You and I must change our habits. Change the way we use our natural resources. The way we live.. Sustainability means caring about the environment. Caring for the environment and our impact on it. Creating a smaller footprint. Using our natural resources wisely. Using less energy. Less water. Less plastic. Use paper instead of plastic whenever possible. Buy products that are packaged in paperboard rather than plastic. Check the labeling to ensure that they are sustainable products. Paper is made from trees... the only [only] renewable resource. Gas, coal, oil, minerals, water.... these are not renewable. Pay attention to what you buy and what you use. We can make a difference. We have to make a difference.

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dance into the light

[178] dance into the light, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

It's there in the eyes of the children
In the faces smiling in the windows
You can come on out, come on open the doors
Brush away the tears of freedom

Now we're here, there's no turning back
We have each other
We have one voice

Hand in hand we will lay the tracks
Because the train is coming to carry you home

Come dance with me
Come on and dance into the light
Everybody dance into the light

There'll be no more hiding in shadows of fear
There'll be no more chains to hold you
The future is yours - you hold the key
And there are no walls with freedom

Now we're here, we won't go back
We are one world
We have one voice

Side by side we are not afraid
Because the train is coming to carry you home

Come dance with me
Come on and dance into the light
Everybody dance into the light

Do you see the sun - it's a brand new day
Oh, the world's in your hands, now use it
What's past is past, don't turn around
Brush away the cobwebs of freedom

Now we're here, there's no turning back
You have each other
You have one voice

Hand in hand you can lay the tracks
Because the train is coming to carry you home

Come dance with me
Come on and dance into the light
Everybody dance into the light

-- phil colllins

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by this river

[174] by this river, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

Here we are stuck by this river
You and I underneath a sky
That's ever falling down down down
Ever falling down

Through the day as if on an ocean
Waiting here always failing to remember
Why we came came came
I wonder why we came

You talk to me as if from a distance
And I reply with impressions chosen
From another time time time
From another time.

-- Brian Eno

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sandy bluff

[173] sandy bluff, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

it's been almost a year since a huge flood swept through this area. where i'm standing in this image was under water. the area in the lower right quarter of the image was washed away. many sections of the trail were destroyed and have since been rerouted. i didn't think this trail would ever be as nice as it was before the flood, but it is actually better now. the flood washed river sand over the area and most of the yellow trail along the bluff is still sandy. some areas are 5 or 6 inches deep in sand.

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wetland blur 4

wetland blur 4, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

boardwalk through the william b clark conservation area

wetland blur 3

wetland blur 3, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

boardwalk through the william b clark conservation area

wetland blur 2

wetland blur 2, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

boardwalk through the william b clark conservation area

wetland blur 1

wetland blur 1, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

boardwalk through the william b clark conservation area

the grotto

[172] the grotto, a photo by Argon[one] on Flickr.

this is like my favorite part of the riverwoods natural area. the trail descends into an area filled with grape vines, privet and a variety of trees: elm, sugar maple, oak, sycamore, loblolly pine, sweetgum, river birch and others. the descent is by way of a stairway with steps carved from fallen trees. i can spend an inordinate amount of time in this section, reading, listening to the sounds of nature, and it always seems to be a few degrees cooler here than in other parts of the forest. the horseshoe shaped trail eventually ascends back to the main trail by way of another hand-carved staircase. on my last visit to the grotto i was saddened to discover that plans are underway to cut a new road through the riverwoods natural area. clearing has begun. it's days are numbered as may be the days of the entire natural area. i'm not happy about this development at all.