walk in the urban park

A supreme pleasure of my life over the last 20 years: adventures in Los Angeles with my dog. It's been two different dogs (but same bully breed): first sweet Alyosha and now silly Meaux-Meaux. 

On Sunday we headed out the door on a stormy morning and within 15 minutes found ourselves on the banks of the L.A. River. It was not the zoo the sign was pointing to, but was certainly full of wildlife. We must have seen 50 birds including a Great Blue Heron (squint and maybe you can make him out in the grass in the last picture) and an elegant Egret (squint and maybe you can make him out in the last small picture, behind the pup). I was very happy that Meaux waded in the water, but was respectful of the beautiful birds and left them alone. 

We admired all birds and plants and walked for quite a while along the edge of the water, Meaux sometimes splashing along in it. There was so much green and life in that concrete. It was a wonderful way to begin the day–and reminiscent of this other urban nature walk to remember. Days later and I'm still filled with joy and my heart swells remembering those 5 miles of exploring.