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Random notes from rambling through the neighbourhood

Some kind of random notes this week on things I observed while on my rambles through the neighbourhood:

Actually, the first one was something I saw while I was driving. I came to an intersection where there was a young woman and her dog waiting to cross. I stopped a ways back and signalled for her to cross. She gave a quick wave and started to jog across.

This came as a bit of a surprise to the dog, which had apparently found a fresh piece of dog news on the lamppost beside them. He got a quick jerk, and decided he now had to play catch-up.

Which he did by running up beside her and bumping into her legs a few times. Slowed her down a bit, but she kept her balance and got across.

I’ve found a few different routes to walk in my neighbourhood, and I’m starting to keep track of how long it takes to complete each of them so I can decide which one will fill my time space best. The other thing I have found to be a good thing to keep track of is which direction the wind is coming from, and how strong it is.


I’ve had a couple of walks where the almost-imperceptible breeze at my back on the first part was now a howling gale as I returned home. Okay, maybe not a howling gale, but when you’ve been walking for more than 30 minutes at a decent rate, it doesn’t take much wind to be noticed when it’s blowing into your face.

I’ve never had a walk where I didn’t see at least one other pedestrian. On my early-morning walks, a lot of times the others out on foot are jogging or running, while later in the day, it tends to be more people out for either a brisk walk or a stroll in the fresh air.

There are family groups, enjoying the chance to get out of the house for a while, sometimes walking, sometimes on bikes. I passed one trio which appeared to be a man and his two daughters. They were riding their bikes on the correct side of the street, all three were wearing helmets, and (wonder of wonders!) they were riding in a straight line, one behind the other.

I also walked down to Spruceland Mall one day, and found myself caught in a 30-foot lineup outside Shoppers Drug Mart.

Yes, there were only about a half-dozen people in the lineup, but everyone was maintaining social distance, so it was a long line.

The one class of people I felt sorry for as I passed them on my walks were the ones just walking, running or jogging in a straight line, eyes straight ahead, not noticing anything of the world around them.

That, to me, is one of the main reasons to get out for a walk: to take in what’s going on out there.

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