It was a bright and beautiful morning today and after days of dense fog today seemed much clearer. I decided to drag my husband out for a walk. It been ages since we went out in the mornings for a walk, it's either been raining or too cold. Today was the perfect day to get out of the house and enjoy the weather.
The last two days I have been extremely busy with guests, cooking, cleaning and running around. Today was the days to relax and have fun. I picked up my camera bag and drove to a park, a little further from home. We haven't been here in a long time. I love going to this park because it is landscaped around a lake and there are all kind of birds and critters here. Great photo opp for me. LOL
I spotted a beautiful grey heron in the middle of the lake as soon as we entered, I unzipped my camera bag and took out the camera only to discover that I had left the camera on for a coupe of days and the battery had run out. So there went my photo opp right out of the window. I couldn't take any pictures of the birds. I was determined to enjoy my walk and not let the disappointment ruin my morning.
The greenery looked pretty against the bright blue sky. There weren't many flowers around. It seemed as if the park had faced the brunt of the incessant rains for the last few months. Even the peace lilies that grow in abundance here were not to be seen. The weather was great and there was enough greenery all around to make this walk an amazing one.
What makes my walk sublime is the not just the scenery around, it's also the company I have. I couldn't have asked for better one than this the present company. There was a pleasant breeze blowing and that made things better as the sun came up. We walked 4 kms in all and enjoyed every bit of the walk. The conversation was pleasant as usual with the hubs pointing to all things of interest around the place.
The fan palm looked pretty and I needed to take a picture of it. Usually there are a number of birds on these palms but not today. with no flowers around there were not many critters. However, there was a kingfisher right on top of a tree on the other side which went diving into the water every now and again. It was a pretty sight to watch.
The sausage tree with its huge fruits hanging down always amuses me. These fruits are definitely 1-2 feet long and 8-12inches in breadth. Thankfully these are held by strong rope like stems and they dangle around from a height. I love the deep red flowers of these trees but today there was none to be found. Instead there were a number of buds hanging like chandeliers from the tree.
The ducks were resting on a small pathway between the bank and a tiny tree island. The waters were so still that you could see their reflection below. I truly wished that I had my camera in a working condition. I was once again reminded of how my carelessness cost me a whole lot of lovely pictures today.
We stood and watched the working of ants for a bit before we moved further. These fire ants were all over the fence in this part of the park. We had to be careful to stand further and watch them. They seemed to greet each other pleasantly as they passed by each other. A habit we city people seem to have forgotten to cultivate. They seemed to be carrying their babies in their mouth or was it food? I am not sure. Maybe they were just shifting homes. It's always nice to think of pleasant things right?
There were wild morning glories blooming everywhere. They grew all over the fence in reds, blues and whites. The wild morning glories are pretty, but much smaller than the cultivated ones. I loved how the seeds looked and decided to take a picture of them.
There were dogs all over the park, these strays are lazy and seem to sunbathe for most part of the day. Look at these lazy guys how they are enjoying their time in the park.They seem friendly enough and one even came to sniff me, perhaps they got the smell of my dogs on my clothes. I had nothing to offer them, we are not allowed to carry food or plastic here.
The waters were so still and the reflections were awesome. I just stood and admired these scenes as I passed them by, for me these are more important than my walk. It worries me when I see young people rushing by, not stopping even for a moment to enjoy the beauty around. All their huffing and puffing around makes me wonder if they ever relax and let their hair down.
Watching the trees, the colors of the leaves the fruits hanging down were enough food for the eye. The birds were the bonuses. There were eagles and kites flying around. They are so graceful in flight and we sat down to watch them at the end of our walk.
I made hubs promise me that we'll be back here again soon, probably on Wednesday if not earlier. I am told that there are peacocks here as well, but we have never seen one so far, that is possible because we never go there in the evenings.
Maybe one of these days we need to go there in the evening. Mid January will see some flowers blooming, perhaps the java cassia would attract more birds and butterflies here. Maybe the peacocks would come out of the dense woods in the middle of the lake to show off their beauty when we are around.
However, what we saw today was sublimely beautiful. It was a balm to my soul and brought peace to my heart. It was a beautiful start to the day and the day turned out to be an special one for me. It's now time to curl up with a hot cup of milk and do some reading before my day comes to an end in an hour or so.
I am so grateful for such a lovely day in the middle of winter. A walk with my husband, hand in hand, chatting about everything under the sun reminded us of the days when we fell in love and walked around in a park in a different state. Memories like these and special experiences like these are the ones we put away for our future reminiscences.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Thank you for all your support.