Day 11, to Riverside Corner, new adventures, familiar road

My friends kindly took me back to Mosherville, on the 236, to start another day's journey. This day, Tracy joined me for the walk. We went 20.0 kms. Again, she had packed a satisfying lunch for us, to go along with the snacks I had in my pack, provided by friends back in Digby. The few sprinkles in the afternoon did not require me to bring out my raincoat.

It was a walk of quiet adventures. An old cemetery caught our eye in the back of a hayfield. Only by walking this familiar road for the first time did we notice it. We paid a visit. Deep in Hants County, the tide even reaches daily up the river to this spot.

Trekking on, Tracy sought to befriend some cattle. They were curious but shy.

A few bugs and plants caught my eye. Ticks in the grassy shoulder caught my socks and legs. A stop behind an Anglican Church was restful, and our conversation all day ranged from many topics, sublime and ridiculous. I did not get pictures of the groundhog family at the stream and bridge where we ate our lunch. Not to mention the swallows, flicker, starlings, and all. That was a fun stop!

I got a new perspective on this road I have travelled so often, since 1996. It was very quiet. The cars and trucks seemed fewer and farther between than when one races through in one's own, at 85 kph. It was wonderful to walk. Going by familiar farmhouses where we always see a dog, the people where out too, on the lawn with a big, new puppy. When I answered them to say where I was going (Digby to Amherst!) They said, 'Ah, the minister.' They'd read the paper. Tracy suddenly felt like she was travelling with a celebrity. 

Cell phone service is often weak along such roads, so attempts to talk with CBC Radio folks for an interview were hampered. Taping a segment for Information Morning will happen tomorrow, Thursday, and go to air some day after that. So, after my phone chat with Portia Clark, I will be driven back out to Riverside Corner to start my next walk, through Kennetcook, and on towards the Shubenacadie River. For a few days, I will then stay with friends in Bible Hill, one of whom is a teacher in Kennetcook.

I have written so little about what I have pondered so far. Much of it is about the pace of life... my life. I can tend to rush. I'm known for my fast walk; people reconize me a mile away. It may well take me more than 20 walking days to be trained in slowness, more patient observation, and watchful waiting.