Well I stole out of the house and headed to Council Point Park for my infusion of nature that has sorely been missing now for one day shy of two weeks. I arrived and found myself solo, only to be joined by several other walkers by the time I’d finished the first loop. The Park was fairly still and there was just a whisper of a breeze. Soon I heard the train blowing its whistle, long and loud, as it approached the tracks at Emmons Boulevard, and it sounded haunting in the quiet morning. Finally it stopped and I could concentrate on the beautiful birdcalls and whistles as I meandered around the perimeter path. I kept up with a little sparrow until my lips were parched. Then, I had to smile because even though I had been whistling back while I was walking, once I stopped whistling, that sparrow dipped down right in front of me, then flew ahead to a tree closer to where I was. I didn’t know whether it was miffed I had stopped our “game” or simply wanted to get me engaged once again. An angry blue jay was chattering and shrieking from a nearby tree. I looked for him up in that tall tree, which has lost most of its leaves after last year’s brutal Winter. It is an ugly-looking tree which has scant leaves and is mostly dead wood, but though I scanned those bare branches thoroughly, there was no beautiful blue jay to be found, so obviously it was playing hide-and-go-seek.

On the second loop around, I saw a woman stationed on a park bench while she watched two children cavorting on the playground equipment. The pair were rather petulant and arguing with one another and soon their raised voices turned to screams and tears. The woman, probably their mother, called out to the boys to “shut up and play” in her shrill voice which carried in the still morn. They looked up, whimpered some more, then started pummeling one another with their fists. She threatened them that they’d go home and they just taunted her from atop the tunnel and slide. By the time I finished the loop the trio was gone. Ahh … the little darlings will be headed back to school soon. In a Summer that was coolish and rainy, not offering as many days to play outside as usual, I’m sure moms everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief that school starts next week. The pictures above are some stone cherubs and angels I’ve photographed over the summer – they are probably the only babies and children who are well-behaved 100% of the time.