while it’s felt quite summer like here lately, with blue-bird skies full of sun and daytime temps in the 80′s, tomorrow is the first day of spring. my blog buddy les at a tidewater gardener is hosting a blog challenge entitled “winter walk off.” the rules are simple. to walk off the doldrums of winter, post an entry describing the things you see in your neighborhood while walking it, on your own two feet… photos from your yarden are not permissible. here’s what i came across in my relatively newly constructed suburban neighborhood this past thursday evening.

edelweiss gartens park

a wheel-crushed (and most likely harmless) snake

fences and clipped hedges. Photinia, in my opinion, looks better unclipped.

roofscape, fencescape & crapescape, with hacked-back grasses.

Quercus (oak) icon. Lagerstroemia (crape myrtle) icon.

park rules. no exercise boot camps allowed witout a permit.

detention pondscape. makes for a good kite-flying hill.

infrequent stormwater, more frequent excess irrigation water outflow

culvertized rapids, with debris.

sediment flow

the lone standing Quercus stellata (post oak)

culvert to catch basin

catch basin, with trash

bridge over culvert, with "every morning you greet me" geocache

Pyrus callerana 'Bradford' (Pear) trees that i've pruned into (better) shape along the walking path

suburbia's home run

invasive bamboo, with trash, along the continued stormwater out flow

field of Allium wildflowers (turf weeds)

sighting of cedar waxwing flock

intermittent stream side

boardwalk through the woods, with "little long bridge" multicache

emergent Quercus marilandica (blackjack oak) along lighted path

my camera battery ran out soon after this, and i was only half way through my walk. however, a neat thing happened that i had to capture in my mind’s eye instead. after rounding another woodlot corner, i came upon an open lot with a little boy in navy and a little girl in magenta playing amongst the weeds, glowing with the backlight of the setting sun. the same wild onion “weeds” labeled a few pictures above. they were gathering them for their mom, or each other, or perhaps for themselves. the smiles on their faces were so sweet, especially when i overheard the little boy say, “gathering these flowers smells SO GOOD!” about that time he saw me walk around the bend, and even though we were 25 yards apart, he raised his full fist of garlic to me, as if in a greeting of passersby. while my images may not capture the best my neighborhood has to offer, at least i know there are good surprises to be had when i’m not even looking for them.

thanks for the challenge les. happy spring!

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