11/365 Half Block from the Park

Our old dog loved living here. Constant contact with other dogs going for a stroll in the park. Our street is not a cut through or a thoroughfare--it is 4 blocks long, one-way part of the time, and dead-ends so that you must go north on Grand. So people drive down, but they are neighbors or folks who think to themselves, "I won't go down this street again." I remember thinking that when I used to visit friends who lived a few blocks away.

But it is pedestrian-heavy. We're close to a bus stop, but more than that, there is the park. People from many blocks east of us walk past us to get to the park. And it's a lovely place, a Victorian walking park, wonderful for kids and dogs and bikes and so forth. And its presence means we meet folks we wouldn't know otherwise.

10/365 On the edge of nine

Sooooooo hot.....

9/365 Sprinkler

Daisy and Bonnie Dee in the sprinkler on the hottest day of the summer (thus far). Note the lack of swimwear. It was just that hot.

"Can we go outside?" Daisy asked.

"Sure, for a minute until Miss Joy comes for Bonnie Dee." Stepping out on the porch, though, was a shock. It was awfully hot. The plants in the yard were suffering. I dragged the sprinkler out and got it set up.

The water when it hit the red bricks instantly evaporated.

They played. Leo sat on the steps until Joy came down. Then he picked up my glass, a Kerr jar (our cabinets get filled with jelly and salsa jars all winter and spring, and then empty out as I start canning again. By late September we have, like, 3 drinking glasses left). He drops it with a shattering crash that makes Joy jump back. The big pieces are easy, but there are tiny shards. I grind them into the concrete step with my foot, thinking of the rabid dog passage from To Kill A Mockingbird, but also of the They Might Be Giants song about the elements: silicon and oxygen make concrete bricks and glass...

8/365 Parade

The parade goes past every year. It turns into the park right before our street. The music and balloons and hoo-ha are everywhere.

Daisy is dressed in her Snow White costume. She wants to play with friends. So we venture out while Billy sleeps to see if we can find the friends. We find them down at Tara's house on the corner, sitting on the steps with a gazillion strangers. Frank and Christy walk up just as we do, just as 2 dozen people dressed in hospital scrubs and carrying rainbow flags wave at us and turn into the park. Daisy sees Bonnie Dee and Naomi and runs over to join them. I chat a minute and then Joy and I strike a deal--she'll keep Daisy at the parade and then feed her lunch, if I keep Bonnie Dee so she can go to Target.

The Hi-Bear-Nation float isn't turning the corner yet when I make my way back to my house. A drag queen in red stilettos walks past me. Later, Daisy and her friends go past my house on the way to Wymans, carrying carnations. "The man in the underwear gave them to us."

Awesome.

7/365 Summer Haze

The evenings aren't cool. Everything is still and a bit hazy. People move slowly--kids play on the sidewalk a bit, adults sit on stoops and chat. But everyone is tired. Summer wears you out.

We stood across the street and talked about unimportant things--poker, concerts, the torn up street. Len says the street paving happens next week. Disappointing but realistic. Justin cracks jokes and the kids kill ants on the sidewalk.

And then, just for a moment if you hold your breath and your face in the right direction, a breeze. Gone.

6/365 Torn Up Street

They've torn up our street with (I assume) the plan of repaving it. Cars creep down, afraid of hurting their tires on the rough pavement.

I love it.

I want them to keep it this way. I want this rough pavement to remain here.

5/365 Sycamore

The sycamore to the east: