Oh Trinity, My Trails

During the four and a half years I've lived in Fort Worth, the Trinity Trails have become a haven for me. I've spent countless mornings walking, jogging, and biking the trails: alone, with friends, family, or most recently, with my roommate's 3-month-old rescue puppy, Jack. (Peep the end of the post for pics!)

My favorite route begins from my house and intersects the trails near the zoo before cutting under the bridge past Woodshed, down to Clearfork. My Saturday morning ritual has become waking early to watch the sun rise as I jog to the Clearfork Farmers' market via the Trails to pick up fresh produce for the week. 

Recently, I've been introducing Jack to the Trinity. His favorite way to walk is directly between my feet while he tangles us both in his leash, and he likes to stop every five seconds to sniff or bark, but I've been slowly convincing him to pick up the pace for longer stretches, and we managed a run together along about 2 miles of the Trails yesterday afternoon! 

In the spirit of searching for a "nature spot" for this class, I adopted a new approach to Jack's stop-and-sniff breaks. I stood with him and observed the swaying grass, felt the gentle breeze, and noticed the hidden wildflowers. I looked at a place I've seen a hundred times before with fresh eyes and fresh appreciation for the joy and calm that nature brings me, even just a smidgeon of river and growth beside a paved trail. So, does it still count as my nature spot if it spans half the city?

P.S. If you read this far, here's a bonus pic of sleepy Jack after our run. Is he not the cutest??