Walking: Often as Good for the Soul as for the Heart!

I am often amazed
at the interesting things I
encounter even in seemingly
nondescript places as I try to get in
a couple of miles of cardio.  Probably,
the stops along the way don’t do my heart as
much good as they do my soul, since they interrupt 
the elevated heart rate.  

Anyway, here are some things that caught my eye today:

 

 

~ A fading little petunia bush
trying to dress up an unkempt section of sidewalk, screaming, “Bloom where you’re planted!”

~ A bunch of chirping, crowing caged birdies perched in front of a nearby garage.    As I took a photo op, a man pointed to a tree and said look at that one.    His English wasn’t so good and neither is my hearing, it took a second for me to realize there was a bird in the tree.   As I walked up, the bird clearly enunciated, “Hi,” and something else which I’ve forgotten.   Unfortunately, after I started to video, the bird refused to converse further.

~ A group of tall, beautifully-barked

eucalyptus trees in a sweet little park.

~ A lovely corner house, with colorful, resplendent roses.
* A sweet faux Arts and Crafts neighborhood, 
          its newness not much detracting from its charm.

~ A sad abandoned toy castle, 

placed on the sidewalk for anyone to claim.

 

~ A reminder that storm drains flow to the Bay, so please, no pollutants dumped.

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Mission Bells and La Musica Mexicana

Driving up highway 101 today through the fertile Salinas Valley, I scanned through the available radio stations and settled on a traditional Mexican music station.  I don't know much about Mexican music and understand only a miniscule amount of Spanish, but somehow driving between expansive vineyards and wide green fields of who-knows-what kind of vegetables, traditionally tended by Mexican immigrants, it felt appropriate to be listening to "la musica mexicana," three words I understood from the announcer.  Signs along the roadside contain more Spanish proper nouns than English ones, a reflection of the centuries-old Spanish influence here.  Early in the last century, a womens' group placed mission bells all along El Camino Real (now Highway 101), or The King's Highway, in honor of Spanish missionaries who traveled this way to bring the Gospel to the indigenous people, as well as to claim territory for Spain.  As I listened to the the music I thought of how California and Mexico were both Spanish colonies at one time and how the border between the two is a relatively recent phenomenon.  My rational mind understands why our country must have immigration laws, but my foolish heart senses we wouldn't have a United States of America if these laws had been in place when my ancestors immigrated.
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