loch crystal springs

i've heard bagpipes while biking around crystal springs. not imaginary ones, not taped and broadcast pipes, but real, live bagpipes. usually, i heard them when i was in a hurry. last week, i heard them while i was not in a hurry, right as i was finishing the climb to sawyer camp and was in the mood for exploration. so i followed my ears.

i found the piper, a very short distance down from a parking lot, facing the reservoir. i figured he was practicing, because while he was bellowing his tune as loudly as his pipe set would allow (which is saying quite a lot), he was striking a lot of off notes. i put my feet on the ground and listened.

a while later, two more cyclists approached, coming off sawyer camp trail, and saw the piper (having heard him much prior, no doubt). not content simply to listen, they walked their bikes over to the piper and asked him something, or commented on how loud his pipes were -- chit-chatty smalltalk. the piper turned to reply, and i saw his face.

he wasn't practicing. he wasn't there to respectfully get away from neighbors, or to provide entertainment for walkers and bikers, or to work on his fingerwork. he was serenading the water.

he was not pleased with the cyclists' interruption, but he was not rude either. he answered their chitchat curtly and politely, and got back to his work. he resumed his paean to the sun on the water, as best he could, and with as much love and vigour as he could muster.

i smiled and went on my way, to do my best to do the same in my own way.