Some of us figured that out earlier…

Life is too short to spend it tangled in the opinions of others. The truth is, no matter what you do, someone will always have something to say, and that’s okay. You weren’t born to meet everyone’s expectations. You were born to live, to learn, to explore your own truth, and to grow into the person you’re meant to be. Don’t let the noise of judgment drown out the sound of your own voice. You owe it to yourself to choose peace over approval, authenticity over perfection.

The time you waste stressing over what others think is time stolen from joy, creativity, and meaningful living. The people who truly matter will accept you exactly as you are, and the rest were never meant to walk with you anyway. So breathe, let go, and remind yourself daily that your worth isn’t up for debate. Your life is yours ; and it's far too precious to be lived for anyone else..

~ Balt Rodriguez 🌸

Artist Credit: Naoko Stoop

We came across this chestnut oak tree with an odd stripe on our hike a couple days ago. After reaching out to friends at the forest service and the city arborist, here is what we learned.

The tree has a good lean to it. It most likely twisted and had a serious stress crack, so the tree compartmentalized the wound by growing a new layer of bark over it from both sides. That's why we see the seam down the middle.

This is called CODIT in the tree world. CODIT stands for Compartmentalization Of Decay In Trees, a model describing how trees respond to injury by forming barriers to contain decay and prevent its spread.

Fascinating! The more you know! 🌲

The animals of the forest don't cross the roads, the roads cross the paths of the animals world.❤️

Trash does not belong in the ocean, it belong in the trash bin.

Good boy!🐕🏆