Summer winding down

At least that is how it seems, though mid-August really is still summer. But I hear people talking about kids starting school, parents taking their college age kids off to college, teachers working on getting classrooms ready, "back to school" ads on TV. Did these things always happen this early? I don't think so.

If you have been reading here for awhile you know that my friend, Beth, and I have been walking, almost daily for more than 6 years—up until a couple of months ago. Beth had surgery on her foot and it has been a slow healing process, but we are now back to short walks. In the meantime, my friend Paula retired from her job and is joining us. It feels so good to be out walking again! Yesterday I took my camera along.

One of the things I love about walking is that you see things you never knew were there, even though you may have driven through the area many times. This beautiful little pond is hidden from view, behind office buildings. There are always ducks, and yesterday, a heron.

Back on the street, the wildlife is more urban in nature. But you know how I love crows. I can't resist a photo of a nice, big fat guy like this one.

As always, we ended our walk at Starbuck's. When we took our coffee out to their patio, we found this guy wandering around looking for a handout.

Paula said she had seen him the previous day, trying the cross the busy street by Starbuck's, on foot. Fly, little duck, fly!

When a woman with a dog arrived, little duck disappeared from the patio. When we left, we found him around the corner at Noah's Bagels, chewing on a piece of bagel. We decided he is a fastfood-loving teenager, enamored of city life.