eucalyptus love

A few months ago I met a volunteer China Camp Park Ranger on the trail. She launched into a rant against eucalyptus trees because of the fire danger.

I felt sad and defensive of the trees. They are so beautiful, and providing all kinds of incredible housing for birds, butterflies, and other insects/animals.

She called them an invasive species. I thought to myself…aren’t humans the most invasive species?

I heard her. I appreciate her efforts. I understand how non-native plants alter ecosystems. I still love all these big, beautiful eucalyptus trees and want them to stay.

Today on my walk, I noticed the print pattern from my sneakers in the dust ahead of me and realized I was seeing my footprints from yesterday. I easily retraced them matching my pace for a while.

I stopped to watch some fluffy clouds lit from the setting sun below floating slowly over Mt Tam. The sun had just barely slipped behind the hill, leaving a thin sliver of gold light for just a moment.

I felt proud of myself for prioritizing my sunset hike over other tasks on my to do list. I’ve missed too many sunsets thinking, “I’ll just finish this one thing.”

I love checking things off my list, but nothing beats breathing cold, fresh air in big gulps that go all the way down into my pelvis. I rarely breathe this big and deep at my desk.

The mushroom families are bigger today than yesterday. I love that I remember mushrooms from past years, where they grew and how cute they were. I also love that mushrooms are always growing in different places and often different kinds.

I heard some loud booms from the trail again today. I don’t know what it is, but I have a sinking feeling it’s the sound of our few laws protecting our natural spaces exploding and being blown up, doubling down on profits over leaving nature alone.

The tide is way in. The bay waves crash on the shore one after the next. It feels fast. The choppy dark blue water feels moody.

The old wooden pier is collapsing in China Camp Village. The Friends of China Camp want to raise 100k to save this deserted pier. Its history is not quite yet forgotten. They aim to keep it alive.

Long live the pier and the eucalyptus!