The Trinity Trail runs nine miles along Lake Lavon, from Lucas, Texas to just outside St. Paul, Texas. It's a "horse and hike" trail, meaning that sometimes horse riders ride by. But it's not a heavily used trail, even in the most optimum weather. It runs through a mix of scrub trees and open fields, with prominent views of the heron-popular lake. It has cedar trees, and flying hawks, and more than a few butterflies. Parts of the trail are vistas of open field like this:
I usually walk for an hour or an hour and a half at a time. The trail is mostly flat, but it winds a bit, so that it's not like looking down some vast prairie, but more a mix of fields and trees. Sometimes I see carpets of flowers.
There are a few curious things along the trail. This time of year, the last of the Osage Oranges are on the ground. These are the fruit of the bois d'arc tree (in Arkansan, this is pronounced "BO DARK"). Squirrels love to eat them as if they were fast food:
When I come to the lake, I stop and watch herons and killdeer (local terns) and seagulls. Sometimes a fish will be popping the top of the water. Here's the lake vista that I see:
When I am walking, I think of all the things that fill my day but which go unremembered during the ordinary day. I make plans for the future, reflect on what has happened in the past, and I think about the day. I watch giant spiders making their webs between cedar trees. I stop by the shore to pick up freshwater mussel shares, or look for ammonite fossils in the limestone outcroppings. Sometimes I carry a cheap camera, bought at a dollar store, and I snap things of no particular interest, because they particularly interest me.
I am glad I have an outdoor place I call home. I know sometimes my heart is on the Trinity Trail.
