A Tale of Two Walks

Today marks the second day of what I hope will become a habit of walking every day.  They say it takes 21 days to form a habit, so I still have a ways to go to see my faithfulness pay off!  Getting the girls on a walk this morning was reminiscent to me of the scene in Sense and Sensibility when Marianne tries to get her sister, Margaret to walk with her:

Marianne:  Come, I'm taking you on a walk.
Margaret:  No, I've been on a walk.
Marianne:  You need another.
Margaret:  It's going to rain.
Marianne:  It is not going to rain.
Margaret:  You always say that, and then it always does.

In my case, watching "Strawberry Land" was my 2-year-old's debate to going outside and though it looked like it was going to rain, thanks to modern day technology, I was able to confirm that it wasn't going to on weather.com.

So here are some highlights, in pictures, of our walk:

Anyone know what kind of bird this is?  It kept flitting down to the ground and then back up on to the fence. My guess is this little black bird was getting some worms.

These trees were so interesting-looking!  These blooming flowers are so bright!  What kind of tree is this?

Saw lots of lady bugs on this walk!  I cannot believe how well this photo turned out with just a Cannon PowerShot camera!  I've always been afraid of the Manual setting because I thought I had to know what I was doing.  Boy, does it work wonders!  I'm glad I dared to experiment!

What do you think the story is behind this shoe?  It's been laying in the same spot for weeks.  I didn't know it at the time, but I ended up getting a lady bug in the shot.  Do you see it?  Once again, I'm so surprised at how the photo on the left turned out.  I haven't been able to take pictures like this since my Cannon EOS Rebel T3i film camera!

My walking buddy, Leala (her 6-month-old sister, Adella was in the double stroller as well).  Leala has been getting these light streaks in her hair lately and I think the picture on the left captured it so beautifully!  I love natural lighting!

We passed an elderly gentleman on our cement path who stopped to chat and noticed that I was taking pictures as well.  He shared with us some of the animals he had spotted along the way, and this ground squirrel was one of them.

I had to get a picture of this tree!  When I saw it yesterday, I thought to myself (in light of pom poms being the latest wedding and nursery decor craze), "God came up with the pom pom first!"  I had to give Him credit here!

We didn't see the male and female duck pair we saw yesterday, but I walked all the way to the end of the road where the elderly gentleman had said he had seen them.  Right as I was turning back towards home, I saw something come down from the sky and it was the male Mallard making his landing into the creek!  He was out of zoom range, so the picture isn't the best.

May you take the time to enjoy the beauty that's right outside your door!

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing." 

- Camille Pissarro