It was two and a half weeks after the day of my accident before I felt good enough to pick up the camera again. I decided to only do a short excursion with it, around my home, to see how my body would deal with the walking and carrying.

When I went out, there was a flock of Black-capped Chickadees and Bushtits in the courtyard. They were flying from tree to tree, barely stopping for a few seconds in each. I followed them around for five or ten mintues before they started to settle a bit. They were still flitting around, but not quite as frequently.

The thing that slowed them down, of course, was foraging. Here's a chickadee who found a little something tasty.

At this point, I had been around the courtyard a couple of times, and for some reason I was getting sleepy. So I abandoned my photography plan and went inside for a nap.

An hour or so later, I got up, and decided to head back out with the camera.

Now, most of you probably know the old saw about how people and their dogs come to resemble one another. Well, I don't have a dog, but this effect seems to have transferred to my cat. If you doubt this, have a look at my cat Zippy here. I swear, this is pretty much the way I look when I get up from a nap.

They have a few other names, but bollard is the one I like best. I wish I would've known it before. It's a word with great character...reminiscent of both bollocks and dullard. Can't beat that. No, not at all.

Bollards. Be on the lookout for them.

The truck with the traffic stuff was obviously connected to the work being done in the empty lot next door, which is a city waterworks project. They were about to open up a trench across the main street nearby, so they could run a pipe under it. To do that, they needed signage. And bollards. Lots of bollards, obviously. Hence the truck.

Leaving that truck, I poked around the cul-de-sac for a little while, and eventually went back to the courtyard. I found some nice arrangements of leaves and rocks there. The beautiful red leaves here are from one of our Japanese Maples. They're very pretty trees.

I liked the patterns and coloring on those leaves, especially the orange edging and the squiggly dark green veins.

As I came back up to my condo, I found Zippy standing guard over the entrance hallway, making sure it was safe and clear for my return. He's good that way; always looking out for me. He's a very thoughtful kitty.

I'd been out about 25 minutes this time, and although I felt I could go on a little more, that would've meant walking someplace more distant, and I didn't want to press things too much. Totalling both trips, I'd been out with the camera about 40 minutes, and I didn't seem any worse for wear.

In fact, the fresh air and traffic safety equipment seemed to do me good. Maybe I could try a longer excursion next time.

Bolstered by bollards,
Tom