Wonderful Day For A Walk

When you can open your windows in Washington, D.C. on the Fourth of July because the humidity is low and the temps are already on their way to nighttime low of 58˚--Honey, it's called Climate Change!  And for this day in my life, I'm the winner.

So what better than a long walk?

With Roméo at my side, and him beside himself with excitement--the boy just loves going for a walk!--we set out across New Hampshire Avenue and first stop, a closer look at the bridge repair work.

 It should have been completed by now, but due to substandard concrete, after completing the other half the first time, the work failed inspection and had to be completely ripped out and redone.

Let's hope they learned their lesson.

Then the trail along the creek.  It's always a treat and today as we walk along we are met by dozens of people returning from the parade.  We greet everyone, and most respond back in kind.  At one turn we see the fallen limb of an ancient Tulip Popular, evidence of last evening storms.

Sligo Creek is always a lovely image and the trail criss-crosses it again and again to give you many wonderful opportunities to appreciate its beauty.

And never an end to the surprises.  Eastern Daisy Fleabane, Erigeron annuus.

On to the backside of Adventist Hospital, which is usually as far as we go before turning around, but not this time.  We turned up Maple Avenue and walked to the Town Hall.  Then up the killer hill on Sheridan to Carroll Avenue where we encountered a man who had come to the parade, but didn't recall where his car was parked.  He knew it was on Lincoln off of Boyd, but having never been to Takoma Park before, he just couldn't reorient himself.  And in all fairness, he was parked over a mile from the parade route and Lincoln near the route hits a dead end, but picks up again on the other side of Carroll off of Boyd.  We got him to Boyd and from there he seemed content to find his way.  

At this point Carroll Avenue is a long walk down a very steep incline to our next destination: Sligo Creek Parkway and the return to the trail.  Roméo was starting to lag, but we made it.  On the trail heading bock toward home, he continued his practice of false pissing on things.  His poor bladder was dry as bone by this point, but he just can't help himself from leaving pee-mails every 20 yards or so.

About a quarter of the back to home, we encounter a couple with a pair of the most beautiful greyhounds I have ever seen.  They were not toy, the were mid-sized.  Both white with a coat the covered their shoulders, backs and hips extending down the contours of their legs with a brindled pattern of orange overlain with rich, warm gray tiger stripes.  As the dogs all did their perfunctory olfactory inspections of one another's muzzles, genitals and anuses, the man asked me about my Little Free Library T-shirt.  Thus followed a good twenty minutes of friendly conversation about Little Free Libraries, the role of books and libraries in contemporary culture and particular authors and works we each love.  This is what it's like to live in Takoma Park.

Once home, someone was ready for a nap!  

Followed up by a nap!

And then crowned with a nap!

I'm sure I will sleep soundly this night.