Canada Geese

It was close to freezing last night, but had warmed up considerably by the time we arrived at Spring Lake. I always rather enjoy the diversity of people and activities going on here on a warm(ish) Sunday. There were hoardes of strollers, including one especially for a dog. There were young women talking on the phone as they pushed, dads giving moms a break and whole families enjoying the sun. A small boy in a helmet with dragon scales on it zoomed past on a tiny bike with no pedals. Another leaned his small bike heavily against his mother as she encouraged him to pedal. There were men with elaborate fishing boats sporting numerous poles, and whole families gathered along the shore fishing, or enjoying the sun.

And there were dog walkers, groups of men talking sports, a gaggle of young women stopped in the middle of the path in animated conversation. We caught snatches of conversations in many different languages, and had our own with people who stopped to give a Spike a pat. His enthusiastic tail wagging seems to attract a lot of attention and his life story often ensues. 

The extent of the flooding continues to surprise us as the areas surrounding the paths continue to be quite muddy although the paths themselves have mostly now all been cleared. Water is still trickling out of the hills even though it has been several weeks since we have had any rain. My thoughts turn, as they have so often lately, to the people of Los Angeles where the terrible fires there are exacerbated by the fact that they have had less than a half inch of rain there this year. I read in the paper about all the structures that have burned in my home town of Altadena and create a map in my head of the destruction. 8 million people live in the Los Angeles basin which is more or less surrounded by parched hills and dry chaparral. Bizarre memories pop up in my head, unbidden, The old fashioned candy store across the street from the elementary school and the corner grocery store across from it. Going to 'deportment' classes at Farnsworth Park, where we learned table manners and ballroom dancing, and the library in the middle of La Pintoresca Park with my mother. Much of that has been gone for decades, I'm sure,  but now I suspect that the places are as well. It is often rain that brings an end to these awful fires, and there doesn't seem to be any in the forecast....

Back home I distracted myself by trying to design a large star for the back of my quilted coat. I think I have the colors worked out but not much else and now it is time to got to Dana and Jim's for Sunday supper.