Groundhogs, Grasshoppers & Sun Flowers Oh My....

Close to my work there are many hidden paths that peruse the local business district and farther out, developing neighborhoods. My favorite, is a nice 20 - 30 minute little jaunt that gives me some good cardio in spots and includes a brief tour of a local stream bed. There's also a child care center behind the stream, I hear alot of giggling and explosive exclamations about balls and swings and 'tag'. Little voices are always pleasant.

Since I started working here, I've exploring more and more but tend to go back to my old favorite. The summer months were a bit to hot to walk and now, well, it's still hot....but it's not the SAME kind of hot. Fall is approaching in Colorado and even though it's still 90 degrees some days, it's not the same sort of heat as 90 degrees in July or early August. September months bring cooler mornings and evenings, it's not quite so stifling or dry during the day but still pretty warm. Leaves are beginning to fall quietly, not necessarily in a noticeable way just yet, but you see them here and there. By October, we'll definitely know Fall is here. Considerably cooler temperatures and leaves will blanket the streets and back yards with lots of crinkly and colorful goodness. I've even spent several Halloweens trying to keep my costume (and now Max's) dry from unexpected snow on Halloween night. These subtle differences are some of my favorite things about the changes in season, thus one of my favorite things about Colorado. Mother Nature makes absolutely no bones about the fact that it is Summer or Winter or Fall or Spring in Colorado, it is quite clear. No question about it. It is one of the biggest aspects of living in Colorado that I missed in California, though California certainly has it's appeal. The draw of the Ocean is strong for me, possibly stronger than the changes in season I love so much here...but doubtful I'd land in California again to follow it. Most likely Washington State or Oregon, but that's not secret to anyone who might be reading this.

Anyway, back on subject....during the really hot summer months I've not been walking during lunch hours much because it is simply to hot in the mid-day hours. But now that's it "cooling" a bit, I can get out more and enjoy it. I miss those walks desperately when I do not get them, it is often the only time I have to myself that is uninterrupted. Even with vehicles and sounds of the city, I still find myself in those walks and that is very important not only for me but for everyone around me as well, a Happy and Balanced Sarah is a much more patient, healthy, loving and giving individual.

In this area, there are prairie dogs everywhere. I think they are one of the cutest little critter on the list, they look like little fluffy teddy bears with muscles and lots of whiskers. Many see them as pests, but like many animals considered 'pests' by our culture, it is only that way because we created it so. Rats have always been scavengers, but so are we. And if human beings hadn't some how managed to completely overpopulate the Earth and fill it with waste, then rats wouldn't overpopulate either. Or at least I see it that way. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I wish there were a kinder way then to kill animals thought of as annoyance. Out here, the local animal control push the little prairie dogs out of their homes with soap suds and then grab them and supposedly relocate them, but I've heard that's questionable. I guess that's nicer then prairie dog traps?

The prairie dogs have created their own community with about a 1 mile radius and I am certain they all begin signaling each other when I approach. The chirp and bark at me and stand up and act defiant, but as soon as I get to close, POP...back into the hole. Little do they know that I would never harm even a single one of them, but their attempts at standing up for what's theirs, protecting their babies and warning one another is really interesting to watch and very sweet. I see babies all the time. Today I noticed them running back and forth, back and forth between several holes...something was definitely going on. A party perhaps? Maybe a new baby? Something exciting was definitely going on. Maybe it was me?

I approached an area filled with sun flowers. All sizes, teeny teeny tiny to pretty big...one about as big as my head, and that's pretty big! I picked one and it's sitting in my cup holder, I feel bad for killing it, but I told the plant thank you for sharing with me...I hardly ever pick flowers, but there were so many and I couldn't help myself. It's making me very happy if it's any consolation to it's mommy. Sun flowers are so beautiful to me, they seem so perfect. Bright bright yellow with that dark brown furry middle, it's like they know they are gorgeous but are totally content to just reach toward the sky and shine right along with the sun, no questions asked. I love them.

In the sun flower field there were grasshoppers bounding and hopping about everywhere. They kept smacking into me and I began laughing at them. They were either letting me have it, or I totally disrupted something important cuz there was grasshopper madness all around me. It was so funny, I'm not mocking their efforts...but it was cute I guess more than anything. "Watch out, grasshoppers will pee on you!" I always tell Max, and they do. I should know, I was a grasshopper farmer when I was 10. I had tiny shed in the back of our house, filled with weeds and other random plants. And grasshoppers. Lots of them. I've not seen that many again until today. What a wonderful memory, playing in the late summer afternoon with grasshoppers bouncing all around me and me giggling up a storm for whatever reason may have struck me at the time, not even one single care in the world. Damn, those are such good thoughts.

I guess it's pretty easy to get lost in 1/2 an hour:)