Walks

I like to go for walks every day. You know, get out of the house, breathe some fresh air, see the sights, and loosen up the arthritic limbs. At first Granddaughter #1 was all aboard with this idea.  Her Daddy was at work and she was happy to go with Gamma.  Now that both parents are home she does not want to go for walks with Gamma.  I believe she fears they will take off again like they did when her sister was born. She checks in with us regularly. "Mommy?  Daddy?  Gamma?"  She just wants to make sure she knows where everybody is.  Here is a photo of her before she was a big sister going for a ride on her trike only she's not riding the trike, she's pushing it. The trike has a handle for the parent to steer and propel because her little legs can't quite reach the pedals. But she's got her helmet on which was good because after 10 minutes of pushing that bike around she was ready to let me do the work. Behind every yard on the base is a fenced in alley. Some people are lucky enough to be assigned a yard with a bottle brush shrub as seen above. Red petals litter the alley.  Those bottle brush shrubs have lots of bees so maybe they aren't so lucky after all.  Others have bird of paradise shrubs, palm trees, orange trees, lemon trees, lime trees, these tall purple flowering trees that resemble giant lilacs, and mimosa trees. If I had a choice, I would choose an orange tree.  Generally we don't go down the alleys so much because of the dogs.  Many people on base have dogs who protect their back yards by fiercely barking at all who dare walk down the alley.  Granddaughter #1's response to the fierce barking is to freeze and observe which only extends the barking longer.  So we walk down the streets.  Other people walk by and greet her by name.  This child knows a lot of people. I hope I can get at least one more walk in before I leave.