The Glory of the Cottonwoods : Beauty Unsurpassed

There are just some days that nothing will soothe you except  nature.  And so , on the day after Cece had to orchestrate the comings and goings of her staff and medically fragile clients during a multi-hour SWAT team stand off, Cece took the afternoon off to find solace...and....she knew what would soothe her.

On her way to work,  she saw the glistening cottonwoods along the Bosque as she crossed the Montano Bridge.  She saw the glimmer of leaves and thought they resembled gold coins flickering in the sun.  She has been riding on her trainer indoors lately or not riding along the Bosque...and she thought that morning, on her drive in,  that she should see the beauty along the way with her own eyes  She did not want to miss the color before it darkened.. So off she went to ride a 22 mile loop.

As she rode along, even when this guy passed her, she did not care.  She was soaking in the beauty.  It was like a trip down memory lane.  She has been riding her beloved bosque for many years now and she rides it  all year round.  She sees the seasons change and she feels like she knows every inch of this land....every turn, every tree...she is able to notice the small changes too.  When she met Kind Daniel of the Open Space he showed her which tree to watch for the eagle when it gets a bit cooler and  he showed her a picture that he took of it last year.

Today, she was remembering....

She remembered a berry fight she had with her friend Gilbert as he took her riding off road.  They shot the berries  at each other like kids....and rides with college kids and men in the army who taught her to go fast on the corners, rides with the team along this path to get to another path toward a hellish climb, then socializing with friends as we rode....meeting new friends...surprising friends along the way.....today it seemed sentimental to her as she remembered her friend Tom and how he taught her, years ago,  to shift and how he made her laugh.....and how none of them could hear....

The memories were as alive as the fluttering of all the leaves...and the memories spoke to Cece.  The old trees were speaking to her and reminding her to have gratitude for all the paths she has ridden down.

You never know where they will take you....