Suzie Sunflower

A woman named Suzie Sunflower arrives at 6:00am so Sharon and I can head out to the mountains.  This is the second week in a row we have made a longer than usual day of it and we have been rewarded for our efforts.  There is no one else on the trail and we have hours to ourselves surrounded by the the lush, overgrown scents of Spanish Broom and poodle-dog bush in bloom.  We sink beneath the California Bay and the great Oak.  We take a moment beneath the Alder where the once-river still has a voice and a small hummingbird darts and hovers among purple flowers.  We grasp the tall Pine which has seen the great fire and before we break away we thank each other for being us.