Our day-after-Thanksgiving hike was cancelled due to rain. It’s been wet and soggy with the kind of rain that forces you to stay indoors for a few days. But yesterday was bright and sunny, the temperature perfect for sweatshirts if you also wore a hat and gloves. A perfect day for a walk. It was just my son and I, so we figured out the plan – he’d bring his scooter, we’d both bring our cameras, and we’d walk along the waterfront, scootering or rock climbing or taking pictures. We’d see what we’d find.
Oh, what we found.
A one-legged seagull (and no, it wasn’t sleeping, it really had just one leg)
Peekaboo view of the Space Needle
Leaf-less tree silhouetted against a brilliant blue sky
Brightly painted houses seemingly floating on the water
Mostly we walked, he scooted ahead; I was way slower than him, barely able to keep up on my mere 2 legs. We crossed over the newly-finished pedestrian bridge and stood on top of 5 lanes of cars whizzing underneath. We chatted. Pointed out to one another cool things to look at. Watched as a flock of small birds flew and landed several times, their whoosh of wings audible as well as visually mesmerizing. Walked at times through muddy grass that squished loudly under our steps. Pointed our cameras in many different directions just to see if we caught any interesting images. We were unrushed and curious, two things hard to achieve in the usual everyday bustle.
He was the one who spotted the woolly mammoth. At first I didn’t see it. My eyes are middle aged, sometimes the magic of youth evades them. I kept looking, and then the behemoth emerged: a long-necked woolly mammoth was right there on the path.
A long-necked woolly mammoth!
I’ve spent a few hours since then looking at the photos, the images prolonging our slow afternoon. Here’s to what can be created from something as simple as a waterfront stroll.