So. Spring. Smile. It's 8:24pm and I'm just back from a walk around the lake. It's a beautiful night; the moon is low, and textured gold, and so big it almost seems like a hand painted drop-down prop in some play. My kitty is glad to see me, my house is welcoming and bright, and I have everything I need.

I like the city a lot. It will be especially lovely soon, when the trees around the lakes and on the boulevards up and down the streets burst into blossom.

I've lived here, in this neighborhood, for 27 years. I don't know how many times I've walked around lakes Hiawatha and Nokomis, but it would be a very large number. I pass by the some of the same people when I walk every day. We don't know each other's names, but we nod to each other as we pass. A few seconds/years long camaraderie. I know the best places around the lake to gather fallen pine cones; the small bristly ones; and across the lake, the big open piney scented ones. Baked in an oven for a half hour, these make the house smell like Christmas, or maybe like camping in the middle of a giant stand of pines or something. I know where one is very likely to find a new tennis ball after one's dog has lost theirs. I know a great place to watch a huge spider build a showcase web, very creepy and right near the mortuary. I know that the corner where the roof lines come together on the park building is not a good place to stand under when we get one of those torrential summer downpours.

I listen to my iPod as I walk, I unwind, and most of all - I think.

I had let my daily walks sort of slide away from me for far too long. It feels good to be out there again.