Tom, Brenda holding Books, Me and David

A new year. I woke up, late for me at ten past seven. I was feeling a bit hung over from New Year’s Eve even though I went to bed at 10:30 and only saw the New Year arrive in my dreams. Buddy was lying on the chest at the foot of my bed when I woke and surprisingly Alley came and greeted me. Surprising because she had been sick and has been slow to get up in the morning. Oh, Buddy and Alley are my cats. I got up and Alley followed me into the bathroom as I took my morning relief, this was good, she was getting better, or at least I hoped so.  I put on a flannel shirt as it was unusually cold, it was supposed to be freezing this morning, and it seemed like it was likely so. Going into the kitchen I put some water on to boil for tea and opened a couple of cans of food for Buddy and Alley. Buddy hadn’t got out of bed yet, he was getting slower about that each year but Alley for the first time in days was interested in her food and picked at it. I turn on the morning news switching between MSNow, CNN, and the local channel news, not much on, everyone seems to be taking off for the holiday and a lot of reruns of last year’s news.  I made breakfast, a scrambled egg with diced ham and shredded cheese, kinda of an easy omelet without the let.  Pouring a glass of orange juice, I sit down on the couch to eat my ome and finding nothing of interest turned it off and played the New York Times games on my phone while I ate breakfast. Buddy, getting up late, peeks around the corner and goes to Alleys food bowl, sniffs at her food, and decided it was good enough and begins eating. He will eat from his food bowl later.

A typical morning although not the hung over part, it was New Year’s Eve after all.  I sat on the couch with my cup of tea while finishing off Connections, Wordle, Strands and the Medium level of Sudoku before I had to go take my morning constitution. I suppose it is good thing a man of my age is still regular, I finish off the Hard level of Sudoku while sitting there, perhaps finishing the level quickly due to my skill or things moving a bit slow. Buddy thinking the latter came into the toilet closet to check on me.

It was January 1st and I had plans to go on a New Year’s Day hike with my sister Brenda and her husband Tom, something we had done before. I had talked with them a couple days before and they suggested we do another New Year’s Day hike I immediately said yes. I asked Tom, who is a planner, if he had a hike in mind and he said no, and he asked me if I knew one and I said I thought there was a hike near Micanopy but wasn’t sure and would get back to him. I had a hike in mind but had to check on the details. I looked in my “Parks and Places” file found the brochure for Barr Hammock Preserve.

Barr Hammock Preserve sits just west of Micanopy off of highway 234, a road which I had traveled upon many a time since when I was born when my parents first took me to see my grandparents, Dad’s mom and dad.  Just outside of Micanopy 234 makes a sharp turn to the south to the Old Country of my grandparents and ancestors. All those hundreds of times growing up and visiting my grandparents we always continued on 234 making the turn to the south. As it so happens, at that sharp turn of 234 to the south, there is another road going straight on. As young as I could remember being able to see out the car windows as Dad turn towards Grandma’s and I wondered what was down that road, the road to the right.

It was 1975 when I first went down that road, the fork to the right, the fork we never took. I was in a 1969 VW van sitting beside the girl I loved to retrieve some of her things from the home of the man she had a relationship with.  It would be a long time before I went down that road again.

I find the brochure for Barr Hammock and it looks like there is a good hike. I called Tom back and tell him about it and we agree to meet New Year’s Day at 1 pm at Barr Hammock.

New Year’s Day, with the cats fed, the New York Times games completed, as I do most mornings I go to the computer in my study and work on a story I’ve been writing.  Feeling a bit tired and not being able to focus I decided to take a short nap, setting the timer on my phone for 40 minutes lay down on the bed which then Buddy immediately jumps on the bed and starts nudging my hand wanting me to pet him.  Before I know it, the phone alarm goes off and I get up somewhat refreshed.

Returning to my computer I work some more on my story until around 11:30 and decide to eat an early lunch before I have to leave at 12:15 to pick my brother up before meeting Brenda and Tom at Barr Hammock. David lives about five minutes from me and looking at the clock in my car I see it is 12:18, I’m going to be a couple of minutes late and like clockwork I get a phone call from David, “Are you picking me up?” I tell him to look down the street, which he does and sees me and says see you in a minute. David, like he often does when I pick him up is standing out in the street waiting for me and raises his thumb up like a hitchhiker as I near. He gets in the car and we head out.

I take I-75 as it is faster and we reach the Micanopy exit in a few minutes where I turn right on 234 and in a few miles come to the turn where I take the right fork, county road 108 or SE 175th Avenue as it is called today. It’s paved now, a bit rough but still much smoother and less dust than when it was a limestone road in the old times and in a about ¾ of a mile we turn into the entrance to Barr Hammock, finding Brenda and Tom in their car, and we park under an old oak tree.

We all get out of our cars and review the park map I brought. There are a number of trails of varying length and identified by different colored trail markers. There is the white equestrian trail, yellow pedestrian only trail, blue cyclist and pedestrian trail and some for all users.  

Barr Hammock South Trails

The trails range from two miles to nine miles but with various connections and shortcuts you can do a hike of about any length. We decide on the blue trail, 2.8 miles with the option of adding part of the yellow trail depending on how we were doing at the halfway point. In past times we would have easily done five of six miles but with all of us in our 70’s now we opt for shorter hikes.

We set off in our usual formation, Tom with his dog Books leading the way, then me followed by Brenda and David. It is an absolutely perfect day for a hike, 65 degrees, sunny and a light breeze. The path is shaded by large trees, the hammock consisting of mostly hardwood trees interspersed with some pine trees. Being winter the leaves have fallen allowing the sun to reach the ground which is carpeted in leaves. With little undergrowth we can see well into the forest and occasional see depressions caused by sinkholes.

At the halfway point we decide that we are up for a bit longer hike so we cut over to the Yellow trail which circles back to the parking lot adding about another mile to the hike. Upon reaching the parking lot we say our goodbyes and head home. I take the longer route home, the only route when we were children before the Interstate was built, going though Micanopy and then taking Highway 441 across Paynes Prairie and then across town where I dropped David off at his house before returning home.

It was a wonderful way to begin a new year, something new, reflection upon the old and being with family.

Happy New Year!