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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

What I Saw On My Walk Today in My Neighborhood

I had the luxury of getting out this morning and walk the Chambers Bay trail just minutes from my home in University Place. Here's what I saw:

1. A group of bold crows chasing a hawk in flight. The hawk let out a cringe-worthy screech!

2. A completely and utterly flattened dead frog which I quickly named the "Gutless Wonder."

3. Lots of mushy dog poop(c'mon dog owners get with the program).

4. Two women talking in very loud voices in Korean. I suspected they were talking about something pretty outrageous.

5. A man in his sixties dressed as an alpine hiker with the most muscular legs ever carrying a very large, heavy looking backpack with a walking pace so brisk, he outdid all of us young'uns on the trail for sure!

6. A young couple have a serious conversation in Russian.

7. A couple in fancy exercise outfits. The man was lifting small weights as he walked and the woman was applying lip gloss.

8. Dogs! Specifically, a Pug, a Cocker Spaniel, a Lab, a Standard Poodle, a Sheltie, and a Golden Retriever. Happy dogs, happy owners.

9. Anderson Island completely obscured from the fog.

10. Tons of debris in the bay, mostly logs.

11. Landscapers working hard shoveling, hoeing, raking, and sweeping.

12. Fresh lime-green moss caking the ground in the wooded areas off the switchbacks.

13. Two energetic women (with New Yorker accents) discussing how they should do more yoga and try cooking new recipes because that describes who they are and what they want out of life!

A lucky list of 13 things!

What did you see today?

13 comments:

JosephMcG said...

1. a happy couple came to worship today

2. one woman who prayed that God would help her to find the money she needed to stay in her home

3. a woman in her late thirties who loves God whom I teased and asked her not to pray for me anymore because I was so happy that the strain on my emotions caused by joy was draining me

4. two friends who teased and laughed at me at dinner tonight

5. my wonderful supervisor sighed with relief because she had finished putting together next year's budget

6. a beautiful woman who works at Target's pharmacy who teased and lauged with me when she met me... because over the phone I had described myself as just one of the prettiest men she would ever see...

that's some of the wonderful moments I experienced today

Kim Thompson said...

Awesome! The last one was the most excellent!

Jaynie Jones said...

A great snapshot of your day, Kim, and yours, too, Joseph.

For me, every day begins with the first look at Mount Rainier. The magnificence of the mountain is that (just as with each of our lives) the slate is wiped clean each day, and there is a blank canvas on which an ever-changing work of art will unfold for the day.

There were many joys of the day for me including our weekly department heads' meeting with everyone singing Happy Birthday to me and presenting me with a beautiful little birthday cake with one candle in it. Since I was successfully able to blow it out, I believe that means I will get my wish for the year.

Kim Thompson said...

Hey, Happy Birthday Janie! Sounds like a lovely day for you!

I agree with every word you said about the mountain. It is absolutely glorious and it reminds me how lucky I am to live where I do!

Joy Fitzpatrick said...

What wonderful things to share! Nice to hear such positive things from others. I think I'll start to keep a list of good things each day, to help me see the good side of life.

Kim Thompson said...

Hi Joy! What a great idea you have! That would be fun to journal wouldn't it? The South Sound really is a great place!

Lorraine Hart said...

On my walk today I saw...

1/ My beautiful grandogger walking beside me.
2/ An eagle diving into our bay
3/ Neighbours who wave and say good morning as they come out for the sun.
4/ Oh yeah.....THE SUN SHINES SO BEAUTIFULLY ON THE SOUTH SOUND..yeah!
5/ An old maple that always gives us a blessing...sometimes even a story!
6/ Flowers everywhere and blossoming trees.

If we begin our days with our gratitude...how can it not be a beautiful day? Looks like paradise to me!

Kim Thompson said...

Amen Lorraine!

Sara Sandefur said...

I live in the Hilltop. On my walk today I saw:
1) 12 KFC wrappers and cups strewn about the sidewalk strips & street.
2) A growing pile of garbage in the backyard/alley of the abandoned house next door.
3) Fresh graffiti on the back wall of the old Wonder Bakery.
4) A new for sale sign on one of the recently auctioned properties on my street.
5) The neighborhood crack dealer walking down the street screaming at his buddy with more expletives than my kids should ever hear.

Even the sunshine can't make this place look good.

Maybe we'll drive to Chamber's Bay for an escapist hike and pretend for a moment that we live over there instead.

Kim Thompson said...

Sara:

I appreciate your comments. My father patrolled the hilltop in the 70's and 80's as TPD. My mother-in-law grew up there, too. There were many nights, I thought my dad would be killed there. His job was fierce and we were scared back then.

I went to a funeral today of a beloved neighbor. The message I walked away with was love despite the obstacles. As Leonard Cohen once said: "There is a crack in everything and that's how the light gets in."

Kim

Lorraine Hart said...

Beautifully said Kim.

Lorraine Hart said...

Check out this beautiful poem by Jack McCarthy Kim....

http://www.standupoet.net/Poems/What_I_Saw.htm

Stephanie Frieze said...

Thanks for taking me on a walk, Kim! Now I need to get out of the house and do it for real! I just hate all the traffic out our way. I always am thinking of how the pollution from the cars balances with the benifits with the exercise.