Getting our ducks in a row

hardy har har

These are the ducks that live by the creek at my work. They spend most of their time in the yellow circled areas, which is just over the bank from our parking lot. Mostly swamp with some litter thrown in. How else would you know humans had been here?

I go watch them when I feel sorry for myself, working in a cubicle under florescent lighting staring at Excel sheets. The life I imagine for ducks is pretty romantic. I'm sure it's not at all like that and they have their own set of problems, one of them being living so g.d. close to all this concrete and asphalt. But they have wings, so I figure they can escape if/when it gets too bad. There are geese with goslings now, too. This is the first picture I got of them...

Oh yeah, getting our ducks in a row. Well, our lease runs through mid-July so that's the time we're eyeballing as Drop Out Day (even though there's no specific day just yet). Just a couple of months away and there's a lot to do.

Keith ordered Bob Flowerdew's Organic Bible and said he stopped highlighting once he realized he was highlighting everything. Mom and Dad said they'd plant a garden for us this year and we'll be there in plenty of time to harvest and can/freeze/eat everything. I've been doing what I do best: internet research. Compiling a list of bookmarks longer than my arm on ideas/inspiration for our new life.

The last weekend in April the weather was fantastically sunny and warm so we took our bikes on the MAX to the Zoo stop and then rode down the hill, probably around 4 miles total. See: Google Maps as visual aid.

If you ride this route fast and on a very tiny bike, it's called Zoobombing. Unfortunately I was scarred at a young age, physically and psychically, by a bike wreck that involved a gravel road, my sister, and a banana seat bike. Therefore: I go slow. Keith zooms a little despite his crashing last year. But anyway, we stopped several times along the way, charging our Vitamin D reserves. (Yes, Mom, I wear sunscreen!)

@ the archery range
on our left, your right
trust me


don't let those orange-ish leaves fool you
it really is spring
see the grass is nice and lush


almost home
stopped at the park
in the shade

We get down on living in the city, on the pavement and asphalt, and with all of the noise. But, in reality, we live very close to some nature. Sure, that nature is usually being enjoyed by others, but we can find quiet places to chill out when we need to. I think this will be KEY to staying sane over the next couple of months.

And of course the dogs are enjoying getting out more as well. When it's so sunny and warm out that we're climbing the walls, there's no way we can leave the dogs inside (not without a crapload of guilt anyway). They LOVE LOVE LOVE being outside, which makes me even happier to think about their lives once we Drop Out.

Mia needs to rest on the cool concrete
on the way home from a walk