I do a lot
of walking. This is partially because I’m lucky enough to live in a
neighborhood that is safe, pretty, and has most of my typical destinations
(e.g. grocery store) within a handful of blocks. It’s also because I’m on a
tight gas budget; I like the exercise; and – most relevantly – it gives me time
to mentally develop plots and characters. Then the final bonus: there’s plenty
of scope for the imagination, to borrow and Anne Shirley-ism. I love looking
around me as I stroll and seeing little visual treasures—to me, they’re like
short stories for the eyes.
I took a delightful walk in the
rain today; a warm, fragrant, pastel shaded spring rain. There were several
rich visual vignettes to be observed along my way. I saw a baby snake – no
longer than six inches – sulking in the middle of the sidewalk, brown and wet.
I saw a big puddle swirling with sinister looking designs of bright,
yellow-green pollen. I saw a late-blooming magnolia tree surrounded by such a
thick ring of flowering dandelions that the white and pink blossoms on the tree
seemed to be glowing.
And I saw two prim houses across
each other on a narrow side street, each with a second floor window open to the
humid morning, and a cat perched inside the window. One was a fluffy grey with
a white chin, the other a lean-looking tabby. These cats were clearly eyeing
one another across the way. Whether their mutual gaze was one of affection,
suspicion, or idle interest is beyond my ability to fathom, but it was highly
entertaining for observe.