Stuff That Comes From Running

Originally posted August 9, 2016 . . .

I am pretty certain that anyone who’s spent the smallest amount of time around me knows that I love to run.  Like most runners, I’m motivated by endorphines, competition and staying strong and healthy.  As a writer, though, I run to open my mind, to turn on the faucet and let the ideas roam around.  Once in a while, I might get some nugget of wisdom or insightful notion but most of the time I try to observe, to  let myself respond to what I see.  The imagination needs regular practice.

Here are a few examples...

---

This is a mushroom that looks like a rose.  It makes me think of things that are not what they appear to be, like an unexpected character deviation.  

Prince William Forest, Virginia

---

 This makes me wonder who put all the stuff in the truck bed

and why they left it in the woods. 

Moneta, Virginia

---

This one sent me to Google.  It could be a deliberately bent tree placed as a marker tree or prayer tree by Native Americans.  I ask myself if the tree is old enough for that. I imagine the tree telling its story.   

Smith Mountain Lake State Park, Virginia

---

Here is one of two bear cubs, taken right before their mother appeared on the scene. 

It reminds me of the ferocity of motherhood.  

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

---

This is a stray dog who watched me each morning as I ran through a coffee plantation.  I found it curious that he never barked or growled

but he wouldn’t let me get too close.  

Alajuela, Costa Rica

---

They are tiny roadside cemeteries all over the place in Southwestern Virginia. 

Many are unmarked. 

---

Some, though, do give us a few details.  The rest is up to the writer,

limited only by the edges of imagination.

---

Story & Photos by: Kate 'Straight from the Heart' Abbott

---