The country path I chose wound its
way past farms and into the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range. Though
the day was again insufferably hot (apparently America is going through a
heat-wave), it was still a beautiful hike. The sky was a deep blue dotted with
fluffy white clouds. The trees leaned over the path to provide shade, and a
small brook flowed gently next to the path. Today I took my time to enjoy
watching the local wildlife. I watched the bright red cardinals call to each
other, the mocking birds rebuild nests, and red-wing blackbirds perch as silent
sentinels on the top of fence posts. Rabbits hopped along the trail ahead of
me, desperately trying to get to their holes after being disturbed from their
everyday activity by my footsteps. Chipmunks and squirrels played in the trees
above my head and would occasionally rain leaves down on my head. The sudden
appearance of a red fox with its supper clutched securely in its teeth startled
me, but I was pleased to see that nature was comfortable enough to continue its
day around me.
When I left the comfort of the trees
to wind through farm pastures, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had
chosen a hay harvesting day to go walking. All around me local farmers were out
helping each other bale hay into large roles or manageable rectangles. At one
point I walked past a barn where a father and young son were helping to toss hay
bales into their neighbor’s loft. Though I have always compared my part of
Virginia to the Shire, I have never felt it more than today. Watching nature
and local farmers at work reminded me of the culture the hobbits come from. Plus,
it was wonderful to see community coming together like it has for hundreds of
years. When all was said and done I walked 8.89 miles (14.3 km) on Day 16. This
puts me over 100 miles (160 km) thus far! It feels great to know that I have
walked over a hundred miles.
Nothing much has happened for the
hobbits at this point. They have said farewell to Tom and Goldberry and have
left the Bombadil’s house in relatively high spirits. Their journey brings them
up and down hills and valleys as they ride across the Downs. Unfortunately for
them, the hobbits turn farther east than originally intended and find
themselves in the eerie Barrow-downs infested with Barrow-wights from the
dreaded lands of Angmar. Around the hobbits the hills loom over them, and grey
stones piled on the crests of the hills almost seem like “jagged teeth.” But, I’ll
talk more about that later in the journey.
The Road Goes Ever On and On,
~ Daisy Buttons
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