I was back out on the W&OD this morning and had it mostly to myself. I guess it was too windy for a lot of folks, particularly the bikers who like to go zoooooooom!!!!. It wasn’t nearly so warm as yesterday, either.

In spite of the wind, it was particularly bright out today, so that any sudden flashes of color were positively eye-popping. I frightened a bluebird out of a thicket, and against the gray and brown of the surrounding wood, the bird’s plumage was startling. Clumps of renegade daffodils were blooming, and the early forsythia was sunshiny yellow against the blue sky.

And then I saw this:

On the other side of a stream, off in the distance, a round blob of bright red. Big red. Shiny red. Whatintheworldareyoudoingoutthereinthewoods red. It was weird. In the background you can see a fence, so you can get an idea just how big this thing was. When I first saw it, it was actually rolling along, for all the world like it was out for a spin. It looked like an exercise ball – you know, the kind you arch yourself across and try to do situps on. There were some houses nearby, but not close, so if this ball had blown out of someone’s yard, it had been traveling a while.

I found it kind of charming, this big escaped red ball, so shiny and bold. I thought about finding a way over the stream and walking down to meet the red ball, but then again, there was something splendid about its solitude. So after watching it a while and taking its photo, I got back on the trail and continued with my walk.

I wonder if it’ll be there tomorrow. I hope it doesn’t get missed, found and captured by its erstwhile owner. It’s the Random Red Ball of the Woods now, and I wish it well. Roll on, Red Ball. Roll on.

P.S. If you’re good, I’ll tell you about the Hailing Hand tomorrow.