Stopping to Smell the Pepper Trees

One of my favorite parts of visiting my sister in San Diego is my daily walk that starts in the canyon trail complex behind her house, involves a few neighborhood streets, and culminates at the park. I used to think I wanted to vary that walk just to mix it up a bit, but nah.

Imagine flying in at night from a wintry place and waking up to this.

Just a few steps down the canyon walk, and it always felt like I was in a different world—even a virtual one. Sunlight filtering in, birds singing, greenery and flowers all around. I could feel my blood pressure plummet.

I love paved walking paths. You don’t have to watch your feet—just glide along enjoying the light on pale trunks of giant eucalyptus and observing the flowers (if I don’t purposely observe, then sometimes, I don’t even notice.)

Do you see the coyote? Last year, I encountered him slinking around the canyon several times, but didn’t spot him this year at all.

Flowers carpeting the ground near the big pepper tree at the top of the canyon.

A tree in the neighborhood that I loved to stare up at. I had to be careful, because the birds loved the tree as much as I did.

This is such a pleasant local park. While here, I make it a point to walk on the grass, because even after a few weeks in San Diego, my eyes are still hungry for green. I make a circuit or two and look over the city from the edge of the embankment. If I were younger, I’d visit the two playgrounds and definitely take a spin on the big new merry-go-round. It’s fun, too, to see families hanging out outside and grandparents pushing small, adorable grandkids on the swings and counting loudly for them.