California Dreamin

"All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.
I've been for a walk on a winter's day..."

This day I decided to literally walk around the block. Our house is just three in from the street that comes into our housing tract. So I headed out to walk the backside of the block first.

These tiny red berries, hidden deep in the brush, jumped right out at me from the field of brown.

Not far off was a few dried seed pods swayed in the rather brisk wind. Now past the church and turn the corner into the commercial district.

The back side of our block is mainly field, the opposite side of the street is home to a number of businesses. Here I couldn't resist the beauty of the sky reflected in the long pane of windows. {Smiles real big} The leaves may all be brown but the sky is not grey!

Oh yes, winter is practically upon us and brown has become a common color, but there is still a bit of green scattered across the landscape. As you can see by this next shot the sky was not grey but absolutely gorgeous!

Here I am standing at the back top corner of our block. Yes those houses mark the top end of our block. Our house sits quite a ways down from this end and is out of the photo. By this point I was both energized and getting a bit short of breath. The wind at the top of the hill here was stronger than when I started out and of course silly me forgot to wear anything to protect my ears. I was happy to turn the corner and take advantage of the houses to block a bit of the wind.

In between the houses I caught a glimpse of red at the back of one of the industrial buildings I had passed earlier. So, of course I zoomed in and captured this sweet little red bug.

There are a number of classic cars in our neighborhood. I have to say some of our neighbors have excellent taste when it comes to vintage cars. I have to admit though I wonder about some of their landscaping and exterior decorating. Not sure if this house was suppose to be mustard yellow {grimaces} but it is much closer to pumpkin orange, and oh boy does it stand out! {wonder what the neighbors on either side and across the street think}. On occassion I have thought it wasn't too bad, then they put that red trailer in the drive way and I gagged! But on a good note, their grass is still sorta green!

"...I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A.;
California dreamin' on such a winter's day."

Rapid City South Dakota is a far cry from where I grew up in California. While I do occasionally long for the mild temperatures, the ocean and the mountains of California, I certainly don't miss the crime and traffic. I use to say I was a country girl, born and raised in the big city. But I wonder maybe I am city girl at heart, for while I love the openness of the country I miss the adventures of the city. How about you, country life or city life, which do you prefer?

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