I’m sitting here, impatiently waiting for important paperwork to arrive via SNAIL mail before I can take off on my big Route 66 adventure.  And since I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, I decided to slow down my break-neck-I-must-lose-10 pounds-this-month pace and make my morning walk around the “lake” (I have to use quotes because I’m from Missouri, so I know that this man-made body of water is not a “real” lake, but it’s so pretty I just don’t care) count.

Photo by Stephanie Roberts, http://ObsessiveHobbyist.com

Things I Always Notice

• Bunnies skipping across the path in front of me like Thumper in Bambi (seriously).
• Young moms with babies in strollers and dogs attached by leash.
• Dudes with huge Beats headphones and iPhones (not actually running; mostly walking and adjusting the iPhone to find JUST the right running song).
• The beautiful white egret that lives at the “lake”.
• Really tacky silk flowers in a window box.

Things I Noticed Today

• Cool chalk graffiti on the sidewalk.  At first I thought it was a giant pair of Beats, but closer inspection proved it was a rainbow, anchored by clouds.  That’s way sweeter than Beats.
• Tiny fish darting around the artificial bogs (they act like they don’t even know the bogs are artificial!).
• A mom guiding her toddler on a tiny bicycle with training wheels, his feet not quite touching the peddles.
• Tiny purple thistles trying valiantly to grow taller than the grass.
• A GIANT new turtle sunbathing on a concrete reef.  There are dozens of turtles here, but this turtle’s shell had to be at least 14-16 inches long!  This must be the Grandaddy Turtle of the Lake that I never heard about.
• Fish jumping out of the water — I actually saw one this time, instead of just turning my head when I hear the spash.
• Really tacky silk flowers in a window box.
• A young soccer team taking careful aim at their coach during field goal practice.
• The goose family — Mom & Dad trying to teach their brood of 4 (we’ve watched them since they were fuzzy babies) how to fish.
• A woman in her back yard, trying to shoo a duck back into the lake, but everytime she turned around to walk back to the house, the duck followed her like a little puppy.

And now, as I sit on my beautiful patio on another gorgeous Southern California day, I almost hope the paperwork doesn’t arrive today.

Because I might take another INTENTIONAL WALK tomorrow.