New Park Benches

We take morning walks in the neighborhood park regularly. It’s the destination we use when I don’t have a specific photo challenge that warrants a trip in to town. The other day we saw a bunch of new concrete slabs being put it where the old park benches used to be. The old park benches didn’t have any arms and were quite low to the ground. So we assumed the old benches were going to be replaced with something that met the new standard. We were right. The old wooden and worn benches were replaced with black metal ones that had arms and were raised higher from the ground. They seem to meet the need, but the old rustic benches seemed to fit in better. There are also a bunch of concrete semicircles put in and we still have no idea what they are for. The whole park is being upgraded with a new huge extensive children’s playground and another exercise area meant for older kids and adults. The basketball area was completely facelifted but still isn’t used very much. The biggest activity is the pickleball court where there is always action going on. That was resurfaced last year. The entire project is supposed to be completed by the end of the year. It will be nice to be done with all of the construction. 

House in the Park

We walk in the neighborhood park almost every morning except for one day a week that we drive in to town. Along the path are the backyards of the homes. Some of them are fenced in; most are not. Over the last several months there has been activity to change up a mid century looking home. What strikes us most is that this is what our son does to his “cabin” along the James River in central Virginia. He’s planting a lot of trees and is constantly putting in new paths and finding various projects. It’s like a hobby. This homeowner is also putting in paths, taking out trees, planting plants and shrubs, put in a fence around the entire backyard, added a gazebo, put in planters, screens on a porch and did just about anything that can be done. We don’t see him working as much outdoors since the flurry of activity over the last several months. I suppose you could say it looks good. But that is in the eye of the beholder. It makes one wonder if he is trying to keep the wildlife out of his backyard since we always see deer, fox, etc. We have never seen a dog to keep out of harms way. I suppose he just wants to beautify the place and has the money to do it. But how much is enough?

Bucks in the Park

It’s not at all unusual to come across deer on our morning walks in the neighborhood park. Usually they are female and every once in a while we see a buck. But since May of this year we started to see a family of several. And one thing stuck out - there were a pair of bucks that we noticed. At the time their antlers were just stubs and hardly noticed. Ever since then we have seen them - always together. And every time we know it is the same pair because their antlers keep growing. This morning when we went to the park we saw one of the two in the back yard of a home. I think he probably recognizes us by now. His antlers were quite impressive. We didn’t see the second one.  But on our way back they were together in the same spot. So I went back over my camera roll and picked out the photos of the two of them to see their antlers growing over time. It is amazing how big they have become and we wonder what will become of them. It’s such fun to see the wild life in the park. It’s such a different vibe than the Capitol Hill neighborhood we still like to visit by haven’t gone for two weeks because of the extreme heat. So we go to the park instead, stay under the tree canopy, and watch the deer. 

Stacking Rocks in the Park

It started a few months ago. We were taking a morning walk in the neighborhood park and at the point after crossing one of the foot bridges there was a stack of rocks. This stack of three very large racks were carefully balanced on a cut off tree trunk. Someone had to have constructed this small “tower” - but who? These are very heavy rocks. Then a bit later all of the rocks were on the ground. Someone must have knocked them down. Then later, the rocks were stacked in a different configuration again on the cut off trunk. Then they were knocked down again. It started to be the name of the game - someone stacked and balanced the rocks; someone else came through and knocked the structure all down. Yesterday the rocks were stacked again. Today the rocks - and the stump - were on the ground. Perhaps it was a message to stop doing it for safety reasons. I could definitely see some small person getting injured doing this folly. It will be interesting to see what happens next. I guess we will find out on our next visit. 

A Walk in the Woods

My husband doesn’t really care for fall. In fact he said he never even paid attention to the changing leaves until I brought it up. Spring is his favorite season and it is also his birthday month. My parents would visit us in the Midwest at this time of the year. My dad loved fall and it was also his birthday month. I like them both - my husband and my father as well as spring and fall. The changing leaves look so pretty in the bright sunlight and even prettier in the rain and mist. So last week we had the opportunity to experience both. I made it a point to stop by as many different types of trees and leaves as possible although I’m sure we missed a few. The birds and animals didn’t appreciate the record warmth changing to frigid cold because we couldn’t hear or see any of the usual deer, herons, fox or feathered friends. But watching the leaves falling in the breeze is such a peaceful scene  - sort of like snowflakes dancing in the winter skies. It’s nice to have a neighborhood park to experience all of these delights. I am not looking forward to daylight savings time changes this weekend. It gets too dark too early and I need sunshine. That is one huge disappointment with the seasons changing. At least Virginia is a lovely state to experience all of the seasons.