Camusfearna gorge

Tuesday
A great, full and active day today, enjoying gorgeous weather and celebrating 36 years of marriage. As I mentioned in yesterday's blip, Glenlaurel, where we are staying is situated on 144 acres, most of which is in its natural state, typical of the areas local topography - hilly and crossed by Laurel Run, with moss-covered rocky outcrops. We went out walking one of the trails before breakfast, and that's where todays blip was taken - in what they call Camusfearna gorge. That took me back many years to reading Gavin Maxwell's Ring of Bright Water in my younger teenage years, and then some years later watching the movie with our eldest daughter when she was about 7 or 8, and she was in tears over the part where Mij is killed. The day had dawned overcast, but by the time we had finished our delicious breakfast, sitting by a window watching birds at the feeder just outside, the clouds were breaking up and the sun was shining. We had brought our tandem with us, so we headed over to the university town of Athens to do some cycling on the Hockhocking Adena bike trail which runs from Athens to Nelsonville. Athens is home to Ohio University, not to be confused with The Ohio State University in Columbus. The 19-mile Bikeway is named in honor of the first inhabitants of this southeastern Ohio region. "Hockhocking," which means "bottleneck" or "twisted," was the native Indian name for the Hocking River, while Adena reflects the history of the Adena Indians who lived in the Hocking Valley over 2,000 years ago. The trail through Athens runs by the river and adjacent to the university campus and their golf course. Quite a number of students were out enjoying the sunshine - sunbathing, cycling, playing frisbee or playing golf - its such a tough life being a student these days! We didn't want much to eat for lunch, so we shared a gyro from a street seller in Athens, then went out to nearby Strouds Run State Park, and walked some of the Lakeview trail. There were more "hard-working" students there too! By this time the day had really heated up - to a high of about 82F (about 27C)! We rounded off the day with another wonderful meal, spent some time afterwards sitting outside in a couple of Adirondack chairs gazing at the stars, and finally watched a movie. Though after our big meal and all the exercise and fresh air we'd had, I was having a hard time staying awake! These words from Psalm 8 seemed a wonderful way to sum up the day:

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:
all flocks and herds,
and the animals of the wild,
the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

One year ago: 35 years!