We are still staying at the hotel in the town where my in-laws live. This morning, the hubs and I ventured over to a nearby residential area for our walk.
It was a nice little neighborhood, with mostly standard ranch homes. Several houses were decorated for Christmas or in the process of being adorned.
And then we rounded the corner to the sight of surprise butterflies painted on a privacy fence. What a delight, brightening up the street!
You never know where you’ll find art waiting to be discovered.
Today’s walk involved a fortunate discovery. The spouse and I are visiting some of his family in Oklahoma and staying in a hotel. I really wanted to make sure and get a walk before over—um, eating. Just eating.
Oh, hey, look at this park *right behind* the hotel!
The attractive gentleman below was a value-added component I brought to the experience. Notice anything in the sky? A lot of planes going through the air today.
I maybe have mentioned a time or twenty on this blog that I always enjoy a little footbridge.
Such a sunny day, even the littlest critters around are casting shadows.
Pennsylvania dingy ground beetle
Just noticing the details of the world around is a good gratitude practice. Happy Thanksgiving, all!
Today’s walk was an early evening affair for me. I came upon some sparrows, ensconced in what I’m sure they believed to be a private communications chamber. But they were spilling all their secrets to me.
Today’s walk about the neighborhood started out in fog–brain fog. It was pretty darned cold, but I couldn’t remember where I had stowed those nice new electric gloves. I vaguely recalled putting them “some place obvious” where “I’ll be sure to look.” At least I got a lot of indoor steps in my search, as well as finding a warm headband that’s been lost for a while.
I finally left wearing older, less thermal gloves. My hands did mostly okay. Once I had my focus on other things, of course, the memory of the “obvious location” snuck up on me and announced itself. I verified when I got home the new hand warmers were in fact in the carrying bag that came with them, hanging in my closet. I had even seen the bag, but we have dozens of reusable totes around. And I’ve had a lot on my mind, okay? Stop judging! LOL.
The only pics I got this afternoon were crap because it was pretty chilly to have my bare hands exposed. Here are a couple anyway, for documentation purposes.
We’ve had three significant snows since New Year’s Day, and there are still remnants here and there. From what I’m hearing, this might be my last walkabout for a few days. More you know what is on the way, accompanied by subzero temperatures. I don’t remember a winter this unrelenting in well over a decade.
But hey, I’m proud of myself for getting outdoors today anyway. And I’m grateful for the time and resources that have allowed me to stock up on provisions for weathering a week in New Siberia. For anyone else in the path of the coming system, take care, and know I’m wishing you well.
Maybe my next “On Today’s Walk” post will simply be images from different rooms in my house.
I know we’re all fighting a lot of fires right now, some not even metaphorical. But we also need some times of rest and sanctuary from the…waves hand vaguely.
I found it today at the Bonnie View Nature Sanctuary. Wouldn’t you like to experience a respite vicariously through my photos?
I saw a cool playground. Got to admit, I was tempted to do some climbing on these structures.
I saw several birds but got no photos of any of them. However, the Merlin app took a stab at identifying them by sound.
Screenshot
A crane your neck to see the top tall tree:
Some really beautiful prairie grass, even if it is dormant season. The mix of hues and shapes is breathtaking if you take the time to really look. One view from across the way and one view from what it might look like for a tiny animal taking refuge in the brush. (I stuck my camera right in.)
And despite the fact that our last snow fell on *January 10*, a little bit of it remains here and there.
If all of the…waves hand vaguely…has got you stressed and anxious, try to go out into nature and move around for a while if possible. When you come back, I almost guarantee you’ll be better able to deal with it.
For the past couple of weeks, I have been driving my car to get from point A to point B on most trips. I was becoming desperate for a walk in the fresh air. So despite the arctic temperatures
along with lingering patches of snow and ice from our recent winter storms, I took myself out for a short ramble around my immediate neighborhood this afternoon.
It was too cold to take many photos, but I did click one in an attempt to capture the feel of things.
Yep, that’s Winter with a capital “W.” But I know how to layer up. And now, I have something that’s a game changer for wintertime strolls.
My husband found a nice post-holiday sale on electric gloves. He ordered a pair for each of us.
No matter how insulated I was able to keep everything else, I always had cold fingers outside when the temp dipped below about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. But no more! These battery-powered beauties kept my digits toasty.
Now I only need to find some kind of electric nose tip warmer and I’ll be completely set!
On today’s walk about my neighborhood I discovered a Christmas tree already abandoned for pickup. I also heard a murder of rowdy crows and later saw someone walking a tri-pawed little dog.
These photos are all the same tree, but each picture looks a little different. It’s all a matter of perspective.
My first thought on seeing this already-discarded tree by the curb was that someone is no nonsense about the holidays being over when they’re over. I imagined someone adhering to an inflexible calendar. But of course, I have no way to know why it’s been put out at least two days before it can even be picked up. I can imagine a dozen scenarios. The family usually leaves it up longer, but we’re leaving on a trip. That’s another possibility.
What we experience is such a small part of the world that surrounds us, but many of us–myself very much included–tend to fill in blanks with suppositions and stories to explain why, often never discovering if we were anywhere in the mark. We can fool ourselves into believing we know more than we do. All the information I really have is this: a green Christmas tree lay in the street — nothing about who put it there or when or why.
Likewise, my senses told me the crows were particularly loud today in one part of my community. I have no idea what was driving their behavior. Maybe they were having an argument or discussing where to find food. Perhaps a predator was stalking one of their nests.
Then the tri-pawed dog. So many questions. The missing limb was the rear right, and the little cutie seemed to be getting along pretty well, looking happy, which led me to believe it’s been missing that leg for awhile. I could have asked some questions of its human, but I’m shy.
I’ll bet I passed at least a thousand interesting stories today in my 40-minute walk without even realizing it. My mind can keep itself endlessly entertained spinning yarns about why I’m seeing or hearing the things around me. And this is pretty harmless, keeping it all in my brain as I have my little perambulation.
But for some reason, it’s been in my thoughts a lot lately that we can let it get dangerous, drawing conclusions and then assuming they’re correct without bothering to verify. I think it’s important for all of us to be able to draw the distinction between what we can see (the tiniest part of the picture) and know to be true vs. what we imagine to be the case. I’m working on it in myself.
However, if I ever come up with a coherent story incorporating the tree and the crows and the dog, I will share it here, being sure to label it fiction.
A friend I hadn’t seen in a while was looking for a buddy to do this 5K walk to raise money for childhood cancer research and treatment. It was a beautiful day and well worth it for this “not a morning person” to roll out of bed early. I got my exercise, raised money for a good cause, and reconnected with a friend. Plus new achievement unlocked. I’ve never before participated in an organized 5K walk/run.
Lizzy’s Walk of Faith Foundation was started by the family of Lizzy Wampler, who died of osteosarcoma in 2018. The organization does amazing work in the field of pediatric cancer. Graphic from their website shows where the money goes.
You can, of course, donate without walking or running five kilometers.
Hug your loved ones and then find a way to do some good in the world today.
I took a short walk around the neighborhood this morning before it got too hot. A number of rabbits were out tending to breakfast, as were many squirrels. Neither animal wants a human to get too close, but they behave in very different ways.
Rabbits tend to freeze in place. Squirrels, on the other hand, turn into frenzied random gymnastics generators in their efforts to escape. Maybe if I run this way! No, wait, turn around! Climb that! No wait, jump to the other thing. Don’t we all know people who act like one or the other?
I’m a rabbit. I can see the thought bubble above this bunny’s head: If I hold completely still and blend into the background maybe the human won’t see me and will leave me alone.
I feel you, little critter. I have been known to do the same thing. “She’s a shy one,” my mother would explain, as I once again hid behind her legs when and adult tried to interact. I don’t dislike other people, just feel overwhelmed by personal interactions sometimes. I guess I need to keep in mind that when people are acting out–like a squirrel–they might have the same feeling but express it differently.
Anyway, it was a pleasant and quiet outing with no human interaction on my part.
Hey, look! I’m back. Soon, I’ll post about what has consumed my time the past several months, but today I want to show everyone some more little art around my neighborhood. I live in such a creative community, I find new pieces around the area all the time in my perambulations.
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This is very near my house. The display changes occasionally.
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Purple iris are in the running for my favorite flower, maybe because my mother loved them. Naturally, I like this stepping stone.
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If you must have a pipe sticking up in your yard, might as well turn it into art.
Get outside for a while if you can. It’s a good place to be.
Nomadic Noesis 