Nature And Nurture

Ranger and I have a well-worn route for our walks together. In plotting our course, my objective is to stay away from personal property and manicured spaces, because Ranger's objective is to traipse around, sniffing and peeing wherever he pleases. So over the years, we have settled on a circuit that takes us along lots of scrumptiously overgrown weedy spaces along the streets, and then through the back woods behind our local high school. It's a good pathway that allows us both to achieve our goals.

Now that we have rambled around this track a few billion times, it sometimes feels a little stale. We do our best to mix things up a bit, with some optional detours and changes in direction. Yet for the past few days, I've been craving some variety or at least mental stimulation as I march along the familiar turf. 

So today, I challenged myself to find some new and interesting things along our well-traveled path. I took lots of photos, and when I sat down in my front yard to sort them out, I realized that they divided neatly into two simple categories:

Green growing things..

..and architectural geometries at the school.

I was delightfully surprised by how easy it was to find interesting details that I did not normally notice.

I am energized to go back tomorrow and see what else I might have overlooked.

And I am reminded, once again, that the sweetness of life is often found in the details.

One last shot of Ranger, helping me cross the last street before we get back home.
Yes, he does remember to look both ways.