Walked to the Y

Today I got up early and thought about how fun it would be to go to the YMCA for a work out. My second thought was I could go to the YMCA but not go in. Google maps said the distance from my house to the Y was 2.2 miles. So I walked to the Y. I had to walk 9 blocks east and 17 blocks south. Walking downtown is easy because it is mostly downhill. Walking back is more difficult. A few blocks of sidewalk were closed due to construction so I walked a few extra blocks on the detour. I passed people on the streets. Up near my house I passed dog owners with their dogs. Dogs do need walks and tend to keep their owners healthy that way. Downtown I saw people waiting for buses or standing outside smoking cigarettes. I saw one man sleeping in a doorway on First Avenue. He was dressed in expensive outdoor clothes but he was sleeping in a doorway so I walked by quickly. Once at the Y I turned around and headed home. The wind was really picking up. Leaves and trash flew by my face. I walked through a couple dirt devils - mini tornadoes lifting street dirt into the sky. I saw rock doves, crows, chickadees, robins and ring billed gulls and starlings. At one point I heard a strange bird call that sounded like a tropical bird. I thought my ears were playing tricks on me. Perhaps someone opened a window near a bird in a cage. I thought about stopping at the Whole Foods Coop for a snack along the way but decided not to. I have plenty of food at home. I strangely want to run to the store all the time now that the Governor of the state has asked me to stay home. The sidewalks downtown and on the major streets are in good shape. Some of the sidewalks on side roads are so jagged and bumpy I find it easier to walk on the street. The road I live on has many huge maple trees between the sidewalk and the street. These maples are so big it would take 2 or 3 people to reach around the trunk. Someone tapped the trees. For most of March white jugs collected sap all day on about a dozen trees. Now the white jugs are gone. Each tree had two jugs on the south side of the tree trunk. Walking north in the middle of the day sap runs out of the holes and soaks the bark making the maple trees look like they are crying tears. I was glad to make it home. I can actually say I got my work out going to the Y.