Signs and Messages

It has been just over seven months since I last posted, and it's been a very difficult seven months for most of us. The coronavirus pandemic rages on, with more than 200,000 Americans dead, protests for racial justice filled the summer, and a divisive presidential campaign has dragged on for far too long. Life has become so unsettled and disheartening that I seriously considered never posting to my blog ever again.

But strangely enough, there have been signs of hope popping up around me as I do my daily walks in the neighborhood. I want to share some of them with you, in case you need a little dose of hope, too.

At first, there was encouragement without words:

Then the words popped up in expected and unexpected places:

Neighbors posted signs that gave me serious things to think about; out of those thoughts hope and change can emerge.

And now we are at the very end of a long, long election season. Many of the signs in my neighborhood have become political, and because I'm in very blue Seattle, you can probably guess which party's signs show up most often. This one was the tiniest and most unusual:

And this final sign is my message to you: no matter what your politics are, if you are in the U.S., the most important thing you can do is VOTE! 

Be safe and well; until next time.

Photo of the Week: Welcome to My World

93/365: Welcome to My World, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

Inside the kingdom of the cherry blossoms.

I'm way behind on the photo of the week; this one is from the week of April 1. I have a special photo of the week coming up in a day or two, so stay tuned...

Photo of the Week: Purple and Orange

70/365: Purple and Orange, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

Crocuses in perfect bloom. Spring is almost here!

Photo of the Week: Curlicues and Catkins

62/365: Curlicues and Catkins, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

On a Harry Lauder's Walking Stick. (Yes, that really is the common name of the tree.)

Photo of the Week: Tangled

41/365: Tangled, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

The fog created a mood of mystery as it cloaked the trees on Sunday morning.

Photo of the Week: Singing Through the Fog

32/365: Singing Through the Fog, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

Last Friday was a gray, foggy and quiet day at the park, except for the bird in the tree singing.

My Favorite Walk

Last week's Photo of the Week reminded me that months ago I promised to write about the walks that I do in my neighborhood, so today you will see scenes from the one I do most often. I called it my favorite walk in the title, but sometimes—when I'm bored with it—it can be my least favorite walk. That's when I intersperse one of my other favorite walks, which will be coming up on the blog sometime soon.

We live on a hill, about halfway up. Most of my favorite walk lies uphill, so when I set out I walk the couple blocks from our house to a pathway that takes me directly to the top of the hill. This path is a right-of-way for the pipeline attached to the reservoir located on the hilltop. (It's so nice of those reservoir folks to give the neighborhood walkers a direct and aerobic way to get to the top of the hill!)

Here is what it looks like at the top of the steepest part of the hill.

 Once I reach the top, I take the path around the reservoir. Last week's Photo of the Week shows my starting point on that path. Here is the same view in summer:

On the west side of the reservoir, there is a short street with houses and a vacant lot that has a bench for enjoying the view of the Olympic Range. There is also an old apple tree.

On the north side of the reservoir, the path widens and there is a fence that runs along a woodsy ravine on one side. The reservoir is on the other side.

 

Up next is Horizon View Park. It has a tennis court, where local crows watch the action.

 The park also has a playground, and trees that are beautiful in all seasons of the year.

 There is even a bit of yarnbombing in a grove of trees on the edge of the park. What more could a knitter/walker ask for?

From the park, I follow the fence on the east side of the reservoir, and enjoy the views of the sky and clouds.

After walking the circuit around the reservoir and park three or four times, I head back down the hill to home, my walk complete for the day.

Photo of the Week: Morning Snow

10/365: Morning Snow, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

The flip side of last week's photo. A scene from my morning walk after overnight snowfall.