Nature Notes - S.Y

It was a cloudy overcast morning, right after a night of rain. While strolling through the streets of the neighborhood, I came across these flowers planted on a front yard. The neighborhood is often quite but later in the afternoon, you will be able to hear children's laughter playing at the school playground nearby. Crows often make their way to the grasses, picking at whatever food they can find and digging holes into the ground. This neighborhood is located on a high hill and if I walk far up the hill enough, I can see the water past Montrose Park and even the mountains. It’s peaceful for a morning walk and if you wanted to, biking down the hill is always fun to do. I see a lot of green in the area, but also splashes of pink, purple, yellow and blue from the plants adorning the many lawns of the neighborhood. On this day though, these colors seemed dull, contrasted by the clouds glooming over and the lack of sunlight. The mood is somber because of the weather but at the same time, it is calming and reassuring that in the moment, it is just me and nature. Since I haven’t been out for a long time, the air smelled weirdly unfamiliar, but I felt like it smelled even fresher after the rain. It was a little chilly, compared to the hot days we previously had. I didn’t talk to anyone on my walk but sometimes I do bump into neighbors and so of course I give them a friendly hello.