The Babbling Brook

I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.

I chatter, chatter, as I flow
To join the brimming river,
For men may come and men may go,
But I go on for ever.

Excerpts from The Babbling Brook, by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.


This is not where we were heading, but I was glad when we got there. We had made plans to go hiking in Sproul State Forest on Sunday afternoon. However, when we headed up interstate 80, we encountered traffic that slowed - and finally ground to a halt - on the hill heading up into Snow Shoe.

There was no traffic at all coming from the other direction, which was odd. Our lane was stopped. The oncoming lane was empty, like a scene out of the apocalypse. So we did what any sane person would do. We bailed. You know those cross-overs in the median? Yeah, we commandeered one of those, and quickly headed back in the direction from whence we had come. 

And so we quickly regrouped, and headed for Cherry Run instead. But when we got there, a large group of people were unloading several huge dogs from a van in a big, muddy parking lot. It looked loud and crowded and messy, and we weren't into that scene. And so we drove on, ending up at Bear Run, a little bit more private place which is just a mile or so down the road.

It is starting to get hot out now in the afternoons. Hot like summer. We have had several very warm days, with more on the way for the coming week. And so my husband and I had brought our water shoes along with us, and our folding chairs and daysacks and a cooler. And we walked up the babbling brook that is Bear Run itself, and we sat along its banks and passed some lovely hours.

Such a stream tumbles over grassy rocks. It laughs to itself about private jokes that only the brook and the trees and the skies know. It runs quietly over surprisingly deep spots that are deeper than you even guess, until you step into one (yes, I did) and discover its depths first-hand. And it sings to itself a happy song about the hills above and the river below, as it makes its way to the sea.

The song to accompany this image is the Talking Heads, with Take Me to the River.

P.S. I'm posting two Blips on this day to catch up, so be sure to check out the other one too: Mini Bunzini's Glamor Shot!