Quiet Walks, Spaces, & Places...

Nearly everyday I love to go on a quiet walk with my friendly thoughts free to wander.  I walk through my sweet little neighborhood "Lyon's Village" in Northern Arlington.  The houses here are mostly from the 1920's and 30's and their owners are new families mixed with a few retired folk who dilly dally about their yards, or sit on their porches with sun-tea in their hands. 

I love the gardens I come across when I walk - especially at this time of year.  They are usually filled with the last hums of cicadas who mourn the last days of summer while the crickets and grasshoppers come out to play their fiddles in celebration of the coming Fall.  Even the small lightbulbs strung across fences and backyards give off a low buzz and make me feel like little stars hung themselves to be a little closer to us to join in on the festive block parties and Fourth of July celebrations of summer.

I'm also reminded of being back home in California this past Summer- spending time in my family's back yard for very similar fanfare and my heart can't help but ache.  

Despite that bittersweet sadness I feel being so far from home, there are so many things to love about living on the East Coast.  There is the Fall change of color, the smell of ripened apples ready for picking, the feeling of soft and cool earth under my finger nails as I push my hands deep in the soil to pluck out potatoes for harvesting.  The pumpkins are a deeper orange here, and while the West Coast does experience some color changing, there is nothing that can compete with the technicolor spectacular from the door steps of Mount Vernon and out along the Potomac River.

My husband and I go apple picking soon so I will be sure to share the many joys of the day with you.

Until then, here are some photos I took over the past few months during my visit home this Summer to California and during my evening strolls in Arlington.  Be well. :)