When:  Monday–Late Morning – 2/19/2018
Weather: The walk was long with lots of exploring.  The rain was teasing!
Observations/Thoughts

• Flat roofs: Having just got a new roof put on our house this week, I am more aware of roofs than I was a month ago or am likely to be aware of in a month. Our roof is pretty steep. I tried to climb on it to clear out the gutters. I was quite afraid. Today, as I walked thru the neighborhoods near my in-laws, this was not the case. The roofs were not terrifying at all. The branches and needles that had accumulated on them seemed to feel the same way. The leaves were just sitting there. They were not feeling any undue pressure to clear the roof. They wanted to get to know the roof a little bit and enjoy the view. Our Texas roof would not tolerate visitors staying that long without clearing them at least to the gutters on their way to the downspouts.
• Eleanor is a tough old bird: After turning into the final neighborhood that I was willing to include in my walk, I saw some flashing red lights. It was down the street a little bit. One of the neighbors who is a likely keeper of all neighborhood knowledge, came out to explore. After confirming the house the squad was parked at, he mentioned, “Eleanor is a tough old bird. She is older than me, and I am not young.” Not wanting to indulge in too much chit-chat. I kept walking after wishing him good health. As I navigated the streets in the neighborhood, I came back to the house again. The neighbor was still out. He let me know the squad just left. He was pretty sure her husband followed in his car. Not knowing what else to say, I said, “If you are the praying type, say a prayer for Eleanor.”
• Assess a chair and aim well: After leaving the donut place, my father in law admitted to having a sore back. He was moving slow, but he was the driver. I went ahead and sat down in the front passenger seat. As he prepared to be seated, he aimed his rear end in the direction of the front seat and just leaned in. I made mention of this to him. He then admitted to it being how his 8+ decade body handles seating most days. He hopes he judges a chair sturdy enough before aiming his rear at the chair and leaning back. To this point, I don’t think he has assessed incorrectly. If he does, it will be some work to get him back up again. Not as bad as Humpty Dumpty, but something may break.
• Satellite dish tells direction: I was always told moss grows on the north side of the tree. I don’t think it is moss I caught growing on a number of trees. It seemed to be growing primarily on dead branches. It was on the lighter side of green. It seemed to have “blades” growing off of it. Not being able to count on the green growth for direction–I was never truly lost where directions were important, I could always rely on the satellite dishes. Many of them were not located on houses. The tree cover was to thick. They were mounted away from the house in many cases. Wherever they were mounted, they were pointing south. As my mother in law was later taking us through the neighborhood on the way to the airport, I confirmed this hypothesis by comparing the car’s compass to the direction of the satellites. And, it was pretty consistent. I am not suggesting you look for satellite dishes if caught in a virgin forest area, but don’t refuse a piece of information if it is provided to you.
• Daffodils first blush: In Texas, the daffodils are not as abundant as in more northern parts of the country. That was quite apparent today. Yesterday’s (Sundays) walk didn’t seem to have any daffodils in bloom. Today, the first wave was spreading. And, in some yards that were a little more secluded and maybe a couple of degrees warmer than the yard next door (in a little gully of warmth), the daffodils may have been on their second wave already. I will see a few of them in Texas, but probably not in the quantity I saw them this morning.
• Worms caught in limbo: In Texas, worms only get caught in limbo (aka evacuated to a paved area with no hope of again finding the sweet earth) during a full deluge. In North Carolina and Ohio and other places that receive an abundance of rain, worms are smarter or everyone just becomes more calloused to their frequent population purges. I remember seeing the worms on the sidewalk and on the driveway growing up. I seem immune to any memory of seeing them after the rain was more than a few hours old. Only a few were on display today. Maybe I missed the peak of them abandoning their homes for the sidewalk, or as stated above, maybe they just are smarter in North Carolina and Ohio and other places where rain is more common.
• Dear Prudence: As I was just finding my legs in the neighborhood I was trying o walk in, I saw a dog on a leash without an owner. I saw the dog continue to my left when the owner came from my right. (There was a fork in the road ahead of me.). She started to turn my direction when I let her know she should continue walking straight. At this point, she referred to her dog as Prudence. (I thought of the Beatles song.). The dog was a couple of yards (not literal yards–she wasn’t blind.  Yards as in two houses) up. She claimed he was chasing a squirrel. I just saw a dog who had some playing to get out of his system. I passed the lady after clarifying directions. I then took a few walking liberties. I took the scenic route and followed all of the dead-end streets. After reversing on one of the dead ends, Prudence and her master were still plodding along. I warned her before passing. She let me know she was quite familiar with being passed. “There are lots of walkers back here. I am used to it.”