“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

John Muir

Up the hills to a park to walk my friends dogs just at sunrise and to take in the lovely view of the city. Slept so well, my first night here, well rested and eager for this sunny day to begin. A day of walking and walking, going over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County, and for a quick breakfast in Mill Valley and a drive to Muir Woods, taking the Dipsea Trail, a wonderful hike, the flora and fauna fascinating—so much in bloom and so much green, so much splendor of sights and deep conversation. I fell in love with the most fascinating tree: the Pacific Madrone:

Arbutus menziesii is an evergreen tree with rich orange-red bark that when mature naturally peels away in thin sheets, leaving a greenish, silvery appearance that has a satin sheen and smoothness.[8] In spring, it bears sprays of small bell-like flowers, and in autumn, red berries.[8] The berries dry up and have hooked barbs that latch onto larger animals for migration. It is common to see madronas of about 10 to 25 metres (33 to 82 ft) in height, but with the right conditions trees may reach up to 30 metres (98 ft). ~ Wikipedia

Vast views of the Pacific. Then we drove down for lunch and a walk on Stinson Beach. Outdoors all day in the sun and then home for a change and a walk to dinner and meeting my friend’s friend for an evening of conversation. . . walk home in the light of the almost half moon. When we were overlooking the Pacific on the Dipsea Trail, we had stopped for the view and decided to turn around at this point, and I said, yest, but wait. Let’s sit and meditate here first, and so we sat on the grass and meditated with the breeze on our faces and the birds calling around us in the sky. I feel the vigor and refreshment that new sounds and sights and smells bring. Found sage on the Dipsea trail and pocketed a handful of stems to take home.