Back Into the Neighborhood

We all have neighbors. 

Greet them on the sidewalk or in the elevator, 

but try not to peer through their windows. 

Windows are to look out from, 

not into. 

~ Alexandra Stoddard, from Grace Notes

Yesterday was one of those days you try to stay inside - 100 degrees, but so humid it feels hotter....

Zelda and I had no choice a few times. [Hey, she is a dog.]

I finished watering the entire front yard. Yes, I know what that means. It always rains after you finish watering the yard.

And so it was raining when I got up this morning.  It was early for me, but daylight. So I thought it wise to take a walk with the girl before things heated up outside (temp. and traffic). I could always go back to bed after.

Then I heard the rain.

I love walking in the rain, but Z is not a girl to get wet. She was reluctant to leave the house. Maybe  it's a result of years of living rough. Anyway, it wasn't raining hard and there was no thunder. We took a chance and headed out.

Zelda took her time. There had not been so much rain that the scents washed away. A few cars passed making strange noises on the wet pavement. The trees dripped on us.

We made it as far as a house where we have seen no movement in our recent walks (when we have made it that far). An older woman lived there who always planted things I recognized from my parents' yard. Some of those bright plants have been absent for a while - no zinnias. I had been thinking the worst.

But there she was today, with a granddaughter (who helps out). We stopped and chatted for a while. She was still in her housecoat, morning cigarette in hand.

"I lost my son," she said. And I shared my condolences. "And you know the man across the street died," she added. "I wonder when they are going to move those cars. His ex-wife and kids come over every weekend and do some work."

We both sighed and shared our schedules, or lack thereof. I complemented the perennials that still grace her yard and then begged off so to avoid the next round of rain.

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