2024, September 14
I left later than I'd hoped to — around ten o'clock in the morning. Thankfully, it didn't end up being too hot (relatively speaking). I didn't have a specific route in mind, but I managed to snake my way through a couple of nearby parks. As such, this was mostly pretty well-trod territory for me, but I made a point to notice new things and to allow myself to be enticed by unusual shortcuts and detours. These are some of the things that stood out on what ended up being a 90 minute stroll:
I was immediately struck by all these tiny, firm berries hanging from the trees. A quick Web search suggests that they are Chinese pistache berries. Not edible, but I think they're in the same genus as the plant that gives us the pistachio nut. Neat! The city has certainly planted a lot of these things.
I saw some sort of warbler — a yellow warbler, maybe? It was too quick to photograph, and I didn't have any nice glass handy to hang out and take a closer look. It's just as well. I had walking to do and more things to see!
Lots of pigeons hanging out under a big bridge. It looked almost stately under there with those arches and pillars. There was a spiked fence too. For the pigeons, I like to think that it was a little like a castle.
I passed through an alley (well, an alley sensu lato — it was almost more of a driveway) where I'd never been before! There's something cool yet eerie about a place so near and yet somehow new. There were some dumpsters, and someone in an apartment building tossed a bag of trash into one of them from their balcony. Convenient!
Passing the same complex on my way home, I saw their "fire command center," which was kind of in the basement. Does someone work in there full time, preparing to respond to an emergency? I wonder what that would be like.
Walked by a baseball field whose existence I seem to forget about and re-remember at least once a year. Does anyone ever play there? I should go to a baseball game!
I used a crosswalk that was weirdly staggered. I pushed one beg button to get across one lane of traffic and onto a median, and then I had to use a second button and crosswalk which were slightly offset from the first one to get the rest of the way across. Notably, pressing the first button does not influence the second walk signal. You have to press both buttons! For context, there's no cross street here, and there is some kind of quirky transit and traffic infrastructure nearby. Have you ever seen such a crosswalk? Send me an email at asksycamore [at] mailbox [dot] org!
I can't wait for my next walkabout, and I hope you'll read all about it! If I've managed to set up RSS feeds by now, consider using them to keep up with future posts. Until next time!