Pecan Picker-uppers, Walkers, Zelda, and Me

One post - two walks

Walk #1

 

Sweet Zelda

We took our first long walk to the park and back. It was a little late for a walk, but we went anyway. It is amazing to see how much changes in the neighborhood in a short time. The creepy, brilliant yard art has changed for the season. I am always afraid she is going to move and scare the devil out of me. As it is, she stands at her bicycle and ignores us all.

I love this weird vignette.

It really was a nutty day - live oak and red oak acorns littered the sidewalk. Then we found two trees dropping pecans. And we weren't the only ones who noticed. About half-way to the park we saw birds in the road...big birds. "Yuck," I thought. "Buzzards and roadkill. I will need to keep Zelda on a short leash and away from it."

They fled. This is a detail of the last photo before the rooster followed the chickens into the neighborhood.

But as we got closer I noticed those "big birds" were not buzzards, but chickens (!) and a rooster (!). [OK. I have admitted here before that I am not good identifying birds and my eyesight ain't what it used to be, but I quickly identified these critters.] I had no idea where they came from and kept looking around to see if there was a gate or door or something open. Still, how would I herd a flock of chickens into their enclosure?

By the time we got close to them, they were wandering off into the side yards and backyards along the route and I was off the hook for doing any "neighborly" thing.

At the park the pecan gatherers were out (and more gathered as we left - 3 old men with cigarettes and dogs!). I have noticed a good number of pecans in our yard too. We should get them up. They are native pecans, small, tough-shelled, but delicious.

A couple working hard on the pecan harvest.

Pecans are just waiting too be gathered.

Beautiful dog with nice owners.

The dog walkers were there as well. Some were leaving as we arrived. Some were making another trip around the path. Zelda noticed the people and pooches. She is a fairly easy walker - so far. She doesn't drag me down the street or jerk my hand when I am taking "just one more" photo. She also is relatively easy to steer away from hazards (like the fire ant mounds now dotting the fields).

Not my favorite creature.

The creek was still running, courtesy of the rains of the past few days. The seeds of the purple leatherflower gave witness to what must have been an incredible late bloom. Perhaps, we may see one more blooming if it stays as warm as it's been. The seeds reminded me that I am supposed to be writing about clematis.* <sigh> Add it to the list.

Crazy seeds of the leatherflower mark where we missed the blooms of a week or so ago.

They need to do some work on this creek. The concrete walls are deteriorating and silt is filling the channel.

We walked home crossing the street at the house where the doberman sometimes helps with construction. They allow him loose at times. And I have walked past when there was only a child safety gate between me and a mass of barking and teeth. Better safe...we just skipped that section of sidewalk.

And while we are on the subject of barking...Zelda doesn't bark. Or at least she has not barked. She whimpers and cries (when abandoned - or rather, when she thinks she has been abandoned). She sneezes. But, so far, no bark.

A truck honked as we were headed back up the hill. It was a friend who gave me a "Nasty Woman"** t-shirt. I was wearing it and thinking it might not have been the smartest thing to wear to the park. Someone might get the wrong idea.

I guess I never noticed the construction of this culvert before. The rock facing makes it look old/quaint.

Walk #2:

OK. We have no discipline.

Zelda has separation anxiety. So far we haven't a clue what to do with her when we are both gone. She escorts us to the kitchen when we go for a drink or to throw something away. She joins us in the bathroom. She frets when one of us leaves the house. She hates the crate.

So we took her along with us to Tai Chi. DH went to class and I drove to a park along the San Gabriel River. We ate lunch. We wandered around and looked at the ducks, an Eastern Fox Squirrel (who had caught a dragonfly**

See that crazy squirrel?

See? He has something in his mouth. The dragonfly was still alive and buzzed. The squirrel barked. We walked on.

There are Bur Oaks all over this park. I love Bur Oaks and gathered acorns for propagation experiments.

One of the Bur Oaks. They are lovely trees.

I probably could have done better with a photo of acorns. They are huge - between 1.5 and 2 inches in length. The cap is "hairy." The leaves are not unlike the red oak.

This park was busy. A school field trip was leaving as we arrived. Folks of all ages ran, walked dogs and fished.  There's a zoning change sign posted at the entrance to the park. While that may be worrisome, this community is committed to its parks. Certainly this will only mean good things.


NOTES:

*I want to write about the clematis "cousins" I see every summer. One is old man's beard found on fences all along the roadways. The other is my beloved purple leatherflower. Time to get to it.

**I was not aware squirrels were omnivores. Now I know.