In late December, my husband said to me, “Sometime over the holidays, I want to walk to the river.”
“Sounds good,” I agreed. “It’s been a while.” Busyness and cold weather had kept us from going recently.
As the holidays started filling up, he said, “I really want to go to the river.”
“Sounds good,” I said. “It’s been a while.”
The days continued to fly by until finally we planned to go on New Year’s Day morning. Though it was chilly, we knew it would warm up by the time we headed for home.
But how to get out of the house without the dog knowing? Hmmmm...
We walk our boy in the neighborhood every day but when we go someplace different, he just slows us down. He wants to sniff and mark everything, whereas we want to actually move down the path. As sweet as can be, he’s also as stubborn as can be when he catches a scent. He must investigate and then obliterate it.
And he’s big enough to do what he wants, even with a leash.
So, rather than tugging the leash, growling his name, and begging for obedience, we decided to just leave him at home. When he saw us getting our walking clothes on, he thought he was going too. But before he could start spinning with excitement, we promised to walk him later and zipped out of the house before he could make us feel guilty. I didn’t look back to see if he was watching us from the window. But he was.
The temperature was a balmy something—a good 30 degrees higher than normal temps for January. We took off at a good clip and soon found ourselves walking up the hill that led to the park ranger station.
Signs along the way warned that the trails would be closing for a construction project later that week. A park construction crew would be improving every trail in the park, working on erosion issues, strengthening structures, and making everything more sustainable and safer for visitors .
But on this day, we were happy to be here, enjoying the morning sunlight and cool temperatures. Several other people were enjoying it too, even though it was barely 9 am on New Year’s Day.
A pure blue sky reflected in the less-than-pure river below, and other than occasional fellow hikers and a young boy fishing with his dad, it was quiet.
As we passed the huge boulder on the trail, we talked again about goals for the new year as well as for the weekend—before the world got back to its regular routine on that Monday, January 5th.
Everytime I go to the river, I marvel at all the fallen trees next to the trails. I like that the park service leaves the trees where they fall so they can give back to the soil, as would happen in the wilderness.
But one area in particular on the trail looks like a tree graveyard. I wondered, would those trees be chipped up for mulch to make room for the new trails project?
And how would our little corner of the park be different after this construction project is finished?
Now, January is already over and February underway. But I’m thinking about that project and my own goals for 2026. What do I want to strengthen, redesign, or build? What do I want to continue?
I want to build on what I’m already doing with Glimsen. I want to strengthen my writing skill and enlarge my photo archives and ability. I want to reach new people. I want to gather resources to deepen what I’m offering here. And I want to enjoy it even more.
What about you? What would you like to start, improve upon, or build in 2026? I’d really love to hear. Leave me a comment below.
And remember, January 1st isn’t magic. it’s never too late to start a project you’d like to accomplish this year. Today could just be the best day to begin.
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