I could sit for hours watching water bubble forth from a spring. It’s a form of hypnosis, or hypo (under) – gnosis (knowledge). Gazing into a spring leads one to the under-knowledge; what is causing water to flow out of the earth right here, right now? If you go all the way, you’ll find it’s “turtles all the way down“!

I was working on the Buckthorn Alley yesterday and noticed a drainage ditch demarcating an area on the south side of the trail that I wanted to cut. Working along the west bank of the ditch, I noticed open water and soon beheld this spring.

What a hardy bubbler!

I arrived at the Hotel Spring to get some water around 8:00am, still basking in the glow from the fires the day before at the Eagle Oak Opening. Soon I was at the spot where I left off, on the north end of the trail, scoping out the situation.

It was relatively warm, and definitely sunny. I took it easy, cutting what I could (being frequently interrupted by the beautiful clouds drifting by overhead). My speculations about the torch not working due to cold temps were fallacious, as all it needed was a little WD-40 and resetting of the nozzle fitting.

The days are getting longer and I didn’t rush to stow my gear and get walking before the sun set. Here are some views from the cut-off trail.

Well, I could have easily lingered, hypnotized, at any of the springs along the way for hours, but the setting sun was beckoning.

See you at The Springs!