The meadow in the heart of town

It's been quite a few years since I've stopped by the Harris Meadow and Pond at Warren High School. For what is really just a glorified drainage ditch (restoring rain water to the water supply instead of letting it drain to the ocean), the area is really quite a pleasant place to walk or sit, especially at the end of the day when the light turns golden.

Relaxing at the park

Sometimes you relax while watching the kids play. Sometimes you take a break while walking the dog. Whatever the circumstances, these park benches are a nice place to stop and sit a while.

"There are “bus bench” workouts and “park bench” workouts. A bus bench and a park bench look exactly the same, but your expectations sitting in them are radically different."
~ Dan John 

Editor's note: We'll be taking a break for the month of August. See you in September!

Benched

When I drive around the residential streets of Downey, I see a never-ending variety of porch decor. I particularly like this wagon-wheel bench. It looks like it could have been hitched to a pair of horses in the old days, for a Sunday afternoon drive.

Inviting bench

I pass this yard on my walks during my lunch hour here in Downey. I have often wondered how often the owners sit and enjoy the view from their front yard. It looks like a great place to sit on a Saturday and converse with the neighbors as they walk by.

If you put a bench like this in your front yard, would it be a decoration or would you put it to good use?

Sit and rest a while

Progress on last year's Firestone Improvement Project sometimes seemed painfully slow (and painfully bumpy). But at last, we can reap the rewards in the pleasant seating areas up and down Firestone Blvd. Here, a lady waits patiently for the next bus.

The seating areas provide not only a place to rest your weary feet, but also a place to be inspired by a variety of quotes. This one says, "Great things are not accomplished by strength, but by dedication, determination and passion."

Park view

I'm so jealous of the people who have the backyard gates leading right to the park. I only live a few blocks away, but if I were there, I could pretend the whole park was mine.

Sitting on one of the benches today was so relaxing. It was nice in the shade and I didn't do anything for a while but watch the wind blow by.

Rain

I love the rain. One of my favorite things to do when it rains is to sit in my living room, in front of the fire, and read a good book. That was how I started my day today. Rain also makes things seem so fresh. The air smells clean, it's like everything gets a new start. Even the street is shiny.

It is also easy to resent the rain. It's inconveniencing; it makes us slow down on our drive, it's intrusive into our normal routine. But maybe that too, is something good about rain.


Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away the hunger.
Saint Basil

Tranquil setting

There is so much beauty surrounding us, but often we're too distracted to see it.

I like finding areas like this one where someone has taken the time to be intentional about creating a space to sit and enjoy the beauty. Sometimes what we need in our hectic lives is just a little space to sit and be quiet for a while.

"There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it." - Minnie Aumonier 

Where does the rain go?

When I went to Warren High School, this corner held tennis courts. A few years ago, Warren underwent a fairly large building program, including a new football field, a soccer field, and new tennis courts on another part of the school grounds. And for a couple of years, this corner was nothing but a sunken dirt hole.

It turns out that this dirt hole has a purpose. When it rains, the runoff from all of the paved areas drains into it, returning the rain into the ground (and hopefully eventually back into our water supply). It was ugly, but its heart was in the right place...

Now, several years later, with some landscaping, a walkway, and some benches, this dirt hole has been turned into the beautiful Harris Meadow and Pond.

It beats fighting traffic

Since we started this blog, I've become aware of all kinds of communities out there in the blogosphere. Of course, there are our fellow "city" bloggers. (Some of our favorites are listed in the sidebar to the right and bottom.) And there is the 100 Strangers community, who make a point of reaching out of their comfort zone by asking permission to photograph strangers. I've been inspired to start my own list of 100, by some of the city bloggers who also photograph strangers (Paris and Tucson, to name a couple). I started a couple of weeks ago, with Fabiana. Today, meet numbers 2, 3, and 4.

I met these people this afternoon while I was "commuter watching." The cars go by quickly, so what mostly caught my eye (and my camera) were the people taking advantage of slower means of transportation. Melvin Tyler, above, was riding his bike. The two guys to the right, who declined to give their names, were waiting for the bus to take them home to Los Angeles.

I think all three of them thought I was a little nuts.

Fountain service

I love old-fashioned tin signs. This one on the bench outside the Coca Cola Bottling Company sales office caught my eye the other day. When I stopped to take a picture, I noticed the silhouette of the Coca Cola bottle on the door. Nice touch...