Neighborhood Watch

When I first moved to this mostly rural neighborhood nearly two years ago I was impressed with the local dogs.  I called them the Neighborhood Watch as I couldn't walk around the block without my presence being noted and barked on every step of the way.  Some of those dogs, in fact most of them, looked like they meant business, too.

As I got to know my neighbors I learned the history of these watchful canines.  It turns out that nearly every dog arrived on their respective properties as a stray, refugee or, in one case, from death row at the local animal shelter. The property owners just accommodated them.  One neighbor told me they put up a boundary fence to stop more strays arriving as they'd reached capacity!

In so many ways, without any fanfare, people of this world are following their hearts to do the right thing and in return these dogs are determined to keep their new families safe.


I'm linking this to Friday My Town Shoot Out!!  This week's topic is 'Through the Fence'.

Balance aka The Yin and the Yang

Three or four times a week I meet with a group of women and we power walk - although sometimes its a  dawdle and chat - over, above and through the exquisite Big Morongo Canyon Preserve near my home.  For about an hour and a half we climb up steep hills, scale rocky ridges, jog down the hills and finish off with a lovely half mile or so of flat through the lush shady canopy finishing back where we started.

We have great camaraderie.  We laugh, we tease, we tell off-colour jokes, we support and encourage each other, and we even have prayer circles occasionally when someone needs an extra boost, and all the while we are getting fitter and stronger.

Occasionally I'm especially lucky:  I get to go home, grab breakfast, then load up my camera and come back to the same park.  This time I am alone and can tune in to the beauty around me and here the whisperings of the trees and flowers.  I can get down on my belly and really visit with the tiny but beautiful little flowers that line the trail.

I am so fortunate to have the balance to the vibrant energy of my hiking girls and the introspective energy of  my camera, myself and nature.

Stream Orchid (Epipactus Gigantea)

Stream Orchid

Mallow

Yerba Mansa

Yerba Mansa

lichen on quartz rock

Hedgehog Cactus

Today my message from the World, through my lens, to me was all about balance.  The Yin and the Yang.  I also got to appreciate once again just how fortunate I am.

Linking to Nature Notes at Rambling Woods