Delicious Days

Balcony Garden

Back on the balcony again.  Traveling is over for a while and the notorious Washington humidity has yet to take a toll on us.  So I sit, enjoying the California like air, watching our little garden grow.  It's nothing compared to all my friends and relatives living is real houses with yards and such, but it's enough to put me in the country right in the city.  The birds swoop up and down the building sides, riding the air currents.  Spiders weave intricate silky patterns on the balcony railing.  Sure, I can see planes take off across the way, but I can also see the Potomac River, its waters simmering in the sun.  Sirens split the air now and again, but quickly disappear.  Mix in the hum of the HVAC on the near office building and it's obvious that country quiet is not possible. But then we don't worry about bears and foxes invading our space or hunters roaming the hills around us.  Life is always a mix of compromises.  We just couldn't give up the short metro ride into the city and access to theater, parks and walks.  My morning walk is along the Potomac, its tidal basin, gardens framed with streaming water and a creek flowing out into the river.

While in London or New York or wherever we travel to, time is spent wandering streets, visiting sites both inside museums and outside in zoos, parks and other venues.  However, we've neglected our own place, taking in only the "big stuff" when people visit.  Starting yesterday we began to remedy the situation with a visit to the Textile Museum and George Washington University Museum where we made beaded prayer bags and studied original drawings and maps of Washington DC dating back to the late 1700's.  What fools we've been not to visit the off the beaten path museums, gardens and neighborhoods. 

To look beyond the obvious.  Enjoy your summer at home or at travel. We will.