Went out to the park today. I use to take walks, consistently, every day, but I've been so busy lately I haven't had the time.
I was first annoyed with myself because I forgot my music. Not that it's necessary, but I love to have a soundtrack when I'm out and about.
One of the things I've noticed this year is how muted the colors have been. I'm used to them being super bright, but they just seem to be turning brownish as quickly as possible. I'm wondering if this is a weather thing or a pollution thing (as Dan mentioned to me last night) or maybe a combination of factors. Anyway, for the most part, the trees have been disappointing this year in terms of color. I spotted one tree that was layered with four different colors on it, but most trees were either green or orangy brown. This saddens me deeply, because there are those couple of trees near the auditorium that are usually gorgeous yellow, like the color of a kid's crayon, and all I get is muddled colors this year.
Also: the lack of wildlife! I'm used to seeing so many squirrels, all over each other, and I think I spotted two the whole day. (One with a very large chunk of apple or bread.) I saw two packs of ducks and one swan. And a couple of birds that were white with black spots, which I've never seen before.
I did a bit of rock climbing, which I'm sure my Mom would yell at me for since I wasn't really in the proper shoes for it. At the top of one of the first rocks I climbed up, I saw this big nail in the top, which I still haven't figured out what that's for.
Not much in terms of people watching today either. Saw a couple of older ladies, one who had this stripped bag and another wearing leggings and a plaid suit jacket, but generally no one that interesting.
I apologize for my complaining. It was in no way all bad; in fact, it was very lovely. I have a strange love for the details of nature. For example, I totally fell in love with a hollowed out tree stump today. Later on I saw a tree with this tear shaped hole near its roots that I thought was very beautiful. And the way the shadows of trees fell caught me by surprise. And a lot of the rocks I climbed were sparkling in the sun, which I always feel is out of place, since it makes me think of being at a club or Lady Gaga more than it makes me think of nature. I also saw this tree that had its bottom half of its trunk covered in some kind of vine and then one very ambitious vine going straight up its side, for about a yard. Or even the way a set of stone stairs can be perfectly covered in leaves, as I saw today, can make me really happen. I like little details.
I also went past a jungle gym, and I realized it had been ages since I played on one. (I can remember babysitting a little boy once and playing there, but that was almost a decade ago.) There were all sorts of strange devices which I honestly could not figure out what the utility (or lack of utility, as this is a playground and the point is to have fun) was for.
It's early enough that not all the flowers have died, so I got to enjoy some of those briefly.
I'm sad Dan wasn't with me to enjoy this. He's such a nature boy. He knows a lot more about the stuff out there, of course, and I'm sure he'd be happy to improv a tour for me. But as I was wandering about, I couldn't help but think of him, and I imagined his laugh. He'd probably think I was being silly for thinking about him, and then laugh at me.
I accidentally went home just as a bunch of kids were getting out of school. They were yelling and carrying on and eating snacks and bragging to each other about their candy stashes this year. One little girl with glasses kept staring at me. When I gave her a little smile, she walked away from me. Oh great. I probably scared her.
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