This post is full with photos and thoughts. I've procrastinated pulling it together for over a week now. Our local city informational seasonal magazine (I guess that's what I'd call it) has a list of city facilities, which includes all of the local parks. This list shows all of the amenities at each location and the address. This time around, while flipping through I spent time looking this list over. Then I got the bright idea that we "should" go visit each park/facility. I checked off the several we'd been to already and proposed the idea to J.He was game to give it a try, even if a city park may not be the most exciting place to go for a walk. I figure: why not? We like to go for walks, to get out in some kind of 'nature'...maybe we'll see something new.
So, off we went to our first intentional location: Pioneer Oil Refinery. This is a new, small historical park (link explains more). We read about it, learned things we never new and saw views from a place we've never stood before.
The next location was Hart Park. Of course, we've been there over and over, for years...since that is where the Pow Wow is held. However, when we were driving to the Pioneer Oil Refinery, we noticed at the back end of the park, there are community campsites with beautiful trees and grassy areas. I had not been that far back in the park since the early 1990's! We took in the sites along the path, starting with the Santa Clarita History Center, which includes the train station, the Mitchell Adobe, and historical homes and buildings. It had been years since I'd stopped to look closely at some of these buildings.It was a sunny, golden day...beautiful and a nice walk.
Considering a nice home for an owl 🙂
The "Parks Project" is really just more encouragement to keep me getting outside and walking for exercise. Our regular trails & walks and Bridge visits will of course continue, as they can. I looked at the 'where to go' on the trails link (above) and I think we've been to each one of these over our years together! Nice.
The days we are at other types of locations, stores, medical facilities...whatever...I'm still looking at, smelling nature. The medical building I go to locally has the best smelling pine tree and the small pomegranate bushes and the VA facility has the 'plastic' red sap I've recently posted.
It occurred to me that wherever I go, I'm looking for nature - flowers, trees, birds, wildlife, clouds...everywhere I'm looking. This had an idea of a "touchstone" falling out of my mouth. I told J. that wherever we are I'm pausing, looking at plants, the sky, you name it. "It's like my touchstone or something" (nature) tumbled from my mouth, thinking of metaphorically or just in my own way of adopting words. This post is a gathering of days of that noticing.
This had me researching more about the actual meaning of a touchstone, including a personal touchstone. I found interesting reading HERE, HERE and HERE. An idea worth pondering.
Since the early 16th century, touchstone has referred to a particular kind of siliceous stone (that is, stone containing silica) used to do a particular job: determine the purity of precious metals. The process involves comparing marks made by rubbing a sample of a metal of known purity to marks made by a metal of unknown purity. The method is accurate enough in the case of determining the purity of gold that it is still in use today. Figurative use extended from this literal use, with touchstone functioning as a word for a test or criterion to determine the quality of a thing, and later to refer to a fundamental or quintessential part or feature of something."
SOURCE LINK
*Note: "Urgent Care" was on the way to a standard appointment, no worries here.The way this plant grows reminded me of the "piggy-back plant" of my teen years. I loved those! I smiled at its other name "youth on age".
At the trail to the left of the "Same Rock Found Twice" trail, an oak had fallen across the trail...cut up and left trailside - resting and glittering in the sun. Gorgeous.
I planted CMB #101, dangling in the sun and we noticed a holding basin that we'd never seen in the past visits here. I love how it is really never the same when you hang out in nature, each visit there are new treasures and delights to discover. We stopped under this huge oak as we heard the wind approaching and whistling through the leaves/branches. I stood and waited for gust after gust, just for the thrill of it. One of these days I may actually see the horses that use this trail.
It is quite green here right now. That rain we got perked up the grasses, so that it looks like early spring. Here is a view from the bridge area...all of that green and wires!
Last touchstone spot for this post is from today at the Little Free Library trail. A shorter walk on an amazingly pretty day.
What do you consider a touchstone for you?
May you appreciate the sun on your body and clear skies to excite you
May you leave gifts behind
May you thrill in the moments
xo
Photos by NAE @pomegranatetrail ©2025
