Hounds of the Amazons

I've been riding the bus for about a month now but today was like a trip to the Westminster Dog Show. I have never seen so many women out walking their dogs. Perhaps they've noticed a stranger in their midst, and feel the need of protection against the new regular trespasser of their domain.

I'm watching the gaits of some of these dogs and some run like they have a rash, with legs spread broadly apart from each other, others run like they'd rather be doing something else like smelling a strange person with a suspicious assortment of dog treats in their hand or sniffing at a shrub that obviously isn't on the runner's itinerary. Yet other dogs seem to be walking their owner.

The walk to work is lined with upscale Silicon Hills office complexes and upscale apartments with amenities like dog parks, swimming pools, car washes and winding paths with manicured lawns and shrubbery forming virtual tunnels of peace and solace. The path even winds through miniature forests that occasionally conceal the pedestrians from the prying eyes of the wheeled populace, which, judging by the looks some of the more fleet-footed pedestrians, could cause quite an untimely distraction. This walk would be heaven for any dog or any other animal for that matter. I used to see deer in the area regularly and feared hitting one as dusk would settle in on those late nights at the office. Come to think of it, I haven't seen one there in quite a while.

I found 11 cents today. One penny and a battered dime and a bee that was busy feeding some ants on the sidewalk.