When:  Tuesday–Metaphorical walk – 2/20/2018
Weather: The rain was dreadful and constant.  It started in the 60’s and ended in the 40’s during the day
Observations/Thoughts

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.”

When:  Sunday–Early Morning – 2/18/2018
Weather: The walk was short with the high 40s.  The skies were blue!
Observations/Thoughts

When:  Saturday–Early Morning – 2/17/2018
Weather: The walk was short with 50ish temps.  The rain was teasing!
Observations/Thoughts

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, a walk is less than you wanted.  My grand plan today was to get up and walk before we headed to the airport.  Just as I was getting the paper to review my coffee, the sprinkles came.  And, as the coffee was consumed the rain decided it was tired of sprinkles.  The hard rain continued for nearly an hour.  Knowing I was unlikely to escape its return, I began the safest possible walk with an umbrella in hand.  (By “safest possible walk”, this is the path that provided for many points where the walk could be shortened and home could be embraced more quickly IF the sprinkles graduated into full-blown droplets.)

The rain didn’t bring out much company on the sidewalk, but it did create things to observe:

• The roofers remembered:  Our roof was completed a couple of days ago.  After the rain, the roofers were remembered.  The area just beyond the mouth of the downspouts had a few casualties washed out from above.  Not every nail hits its target.  I encountered 30+ nails who would have minded their own business until a tire poked them the wrong way.  Some of the nails even surfed the wave to the street.  The candidates for providing evacuation would have been far greater there.  The next few showers of rain may continue to have a few laggers who are tired of living in the gutters.
• Detritus fans and related configurations: When the surf emerges from the downspouts, it bears many things.  Many of these things are just innocent participants in an early spring birthing.  The trees–both evergreen and deciduous pass along the unwanted to the rooftop.  The rain drags these rejects from the peaks of the rooftop to the freedom found below.  As the wave ends, the various debris can only go as far as the water propellant allows.  When the water is drawn so thin it can no longer carry its passengers, the passengers typically are left on the sidewalk to fend for themselves.  And, as the rain enters the yard to eventually seek lower elevation, it will bring sand and silt and what every lightweight recruit it can carry.  The amazing thing to me is the sand.  The sidewalks that always seem to have sand on their sidewalks NEVER seem to run out.  It is always there for the next rain to flush out.
• The creek:  The creek is usually just a trickle.  After a good rain, it all heads down to the trickling, gurgling little creek.  When it comes in abundance, the grass submits to the higher authority of the liquid god.  It lays down as if worshipping.  The long-legged cranes stand in the water out of fondness or hunger.  The cranes can only be viewed while moving. If you stop to get their picture, they will get spooked and find a less curiosity abundant part of the path.
• Rust stains:  The rain doesn’t hesitate to pull evacuees from where ever it can.  On many of the sidewalks, there are rust stains.  My theory is to blame the rain.  The rain washes over the iron fences.  It washes the iron away atom by atom.  Eventually, the iron accumulates along the sidewalk.  After borrowing some oxygen, it gives a nice rust color along the outer edge of the sidewalk. Not really appealing, but not a mystery.
• Pool pump:  The combination of the new roof and the moving of sprinkler heads chased up enough dirt and debris to likely overwhelm our pool pump.  It was a little sick before these projects.  It seems to be in dire need of attention now.  I hope this is the last project where professional help will be necessary.  There are some landscaping and places where sod could be invited.  I can handle the projects where a good back is needed.  When it comes to expert help, I am hopefully wise enough to know when to call “Uncle” early rather than too late.

When:  Friday–late, late afternoon – 2/16/2018
Weather: The walk was short with 50ish temps.  I had my hood up!
Observations/Thoughts

Today’s walk was barely an afterthought.  With a week of “nap” failures, I chose to end the drought.  The nap was pushed back as I waited for the sprinkler crew supervisor.  He told me he wanted to go over the system, but it was really just to collect the check.  The big disappointment was the fallout of the roofing crew.  As they removed the dumpster where all of the old roof shingles went, they pulled it out over one of the sprinkler heads.  I had to coordinate with the roofing company to get the repair.

At work, it has been a week where the BIG project was put on hold.  This involved labeling and doing things unrelated to anything very productive. My teammate and I are pretty good powering thru these redundant tasks.  The “labeling supervisor” (I don’t think the title labeling supervisor will catch on.  There are about 20 or so labels that go on each unit we send out.  By participating in the labeling, I will be better equipped to verify the labeling is correct when the entire systems are QCed.  I am fine helping, but keeping track of all of the labels–including printing–is something I am happy to allow someone else to take responsibility for.) is a thankless job.  Because we are pretty quick and systematic in the labeling, the supervisor advised us to slow our pace.  We alternated between going slow and a variety of stalling techniques.  When doing tedious, detailed work, the supervisor wants to balance the days out.  As today was Friday, our goal was to finish the weekly goals.  Fortunately, the week’s productivity had been high.  We were just coming in to fill in some small gaps.

There was nothing spectacular about my walk.  I saw a couple dogs and a couple of new real estate signs.  Even a short walk feels good.  I am planning to take a more “normal” walk before we take our weekend trip.  If nothing is planned of a unique nature in North Carolina, I hope the walks will fill the void.

When:  Thursday, late afternoon – 2/15/2018
Weather: Nice day for a walk in the mid-70s
Observations/Thoughts

• Not a walking stick: Right before reaching the house, there was a guy walking with a large stick.  It was too short to be a walking stick.  It was shaped almost like an ax–the “blade” was less threatening.  It may have been a souvenir from the walk OR a means to defend himself from rabid armadillos, OR most excitingly, he may be having flashbacks to some buried experience in his past.  Exciting? The last option would be a more interesting story should I see him again and get inspired to add more to his tale.
• People I saw:  It was a lonely, lonely walk.  The largest part of it was me being all solitary.  I had my own thoughts to keep me company.  When I walk without a nap (most work days would have my social interaction improved by a nap), my thoughts are often very poor company.  I did see one walker dressed similarly to me walking parallel to me on the other side of the street.  I was passed by a low-profile bicyclist.  He was one of the polite guys–he let me know he was coming.

When:  Late afternoon Wednesday – 2/14/2018
Weather: Spectacular Day.  Temps in the high 70’s
Observations/Thoughts

When it is a beautiful day, you don’t have to use your imagination to believe you will have company on the path.  When it is Valentine’s Day and the walking is during early dinner time, you justify your loneliness.  I shared the sidewalk with no pedestrians.  There was one bicyclist that I crossed paths with twice.  My wife and I did our Valentine’s things earlier in the week.  It is a day that can be flexibly celebrated–it isn’t Christmas.

I did get the chance to go past the area where my previous sins were videoed or at a minimum photographed.  (This was the path I crossed while it was in a partial construction state.) . The man who was previously paparazzi to my wayward wanderings was looking under the hood of his car.  He had no interest in me.  I maintained my normal pace.  I didn’t risk looking at him.  I looked forward and whispered, “You don’t see me.”

Yesterday’s walk was through the neighborhood.  As it was trash day, I was able to do a bit of research on my neighbors.  if the recycling cans are still on the street, someone gets home early at that house.  Numerous cars pulled into garages as I walked by.  I didn’t pull out my notebook and scratch particular facts on each address.  I just observe.  When I am no walking a dog or walking with my spouse, the input to my eyes and ears give me the mental stimulation my brain insists on.  I hope to see some interesting things on my walks in North Carolina this weekend.

When:  Late afternoon Tuesday – 2/13/2018
Weather: The sun was out with a slight breeze.  Temps in the high 40’s
Observations/Thoughts

Today’s walk was delayed due to life.  We are getting a new roof on our house.  When I came home from work, I was pleased to see the roof moving along nicely.  A leak in the garage was found to have a bad board above it.  The threat of rain kept the crew from tearing off the full roof at the beginning of the day.  it worked out fine.  They made excellent progress.  We are hoping it will only be a half day of work to complete tomorrow.

The bad part of the day was the possible intervention of the Home Owner’s Association.  The roof salesman assumed we didn’t live in an HOA.  As the roof started going on today, I found out we needed to get a form to the HOA 5 days prior to the job starting.  The form said “modification”.  I think, “How is a new roof a modification?”  Regardless, the roof salesman was a standup guy, he made a couple of calls and cleaned it up…I think.  It would have been rough if they had to stop action until approval.  The most relevant walk today didn’t take me anywhere.

After clearing this up, the neighborhood was all I had time for.  The only thing eventful was the dog walker.  When she was a 100 yards or so away, she switched sides of the street.  The sidewalk in a residential area is about 1/3 narrower than my regular path.  I will sometimes drop to the street and pass other pedestrians.  Today, I was glad to let her shift sides of the street.

Warmer weather coming, then colder again.  A small trip this weekend.  Maybe some interesting observations to come.

When:  Late afternoon Monday – 2/12/2018
Weather: The sun was out with a breeze.  Temps in the 40’s
Observations/Thoughts

• Animal Sighting:  There really was not much to see today.  When that happens, I have to gather what contributions I can.  Today, I saw cows trying to warm themselves.  They were on the west side of the barn.  I was paying close attention, but that would lead me to believe they were avoiding wind from the east.  Three of them were able to shelter; three were not.  I am guessing there is some sort of bovine hierarchy.  They didn’t look like they were sharing.
• Jogger and the glut:  Along the whole walk I saw only one jogger…until I got to the very end.  While on the home stretch, I saw everyone else.  I saw a dog walker.  A couple was doing their walk together.  And, my gold buddies weren’t golfing today.  They didn’t have their clubs.  it was good I didn’t “loan” them the golf balls.  They were theirs to lose.
• Tree tags: I have noticed the one yard right off the sidewalk.  Their trees along the path have lots of tags.  The leaves are still on many of the trees; they are oaks.  I found where I can buy the tags on Amazon.  No comfort I found a reason for the other tags.  I thought it maybe meant they were “special”.  It is likely the residents are just trying to keep track of them.  Two trees in very close proximity were over 100 numbers apart.  Maybe they just like playing games with people walking by their property.

When:  Sunday, late morning – 2/11/2018
Weather: Not a beautiful day.  Too cold for most Texans
Observations/Thoughts

The mornings freezing rain had melted.  It pooled on the sidewalk as it melted.  As I walked, I saw no footprints or bike tire tracks emerging out of the pools.  This either meant I was alone out there OR the indicators had evaporated.  My lack of sidewalk company made it another solo walk.  Solo walks are not very exciting to write about. The dogs who always greet me were not outdoors.   None of the standby ideas chose to be worth springboarding to.  As the weather warms this week, I hope somebody or anybody decides to share the path with me.