Scenes from a Walk ~Rosemary

I like taking something as routine and ordinary as my commute to work and finding within it an inward grace and richness. My commute is about 3 miles, from the east side of Green Lake to the Greenwood Public Library, and when I take the time to walk rather than drive, my journey takes me along the paved path around Green Lake. I am fortunate that my walking commute includes a green space like this, but I agree with Jeff Speck, the author of Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America One Step at a Time, who says that not all green spaces are the most appealing landscapes for walkers. He found that walkers want visual interest, such as shop fronts and street vendors, and spaces that give a sense of enclosure,

such as porches, arcades, awnings and colonnades.

 

 

Speck also distinguishes between ‘useful’ walking and ‘recreational’ walking. For a city to be seen as pedestrian friendly, one must be able to incorporate walking into one’s daily routines, such as picking up dry cleaning or groceries, stopping at the library, or visiting a coffee shop or bookstore. Speck points out that when you choose to go car-less, you support local businesses more. And because city-dwellers can drive less, their environmental imprint is usually much smaller than those who live in the suburbs or the country.

 

 

And that is true for me. Once I leave the lake path, my walking commute takes me through residential streets up to Phinney ridge. There I walk north along Greenwood Avenue, a street lined with interesting store windows and small shops. Most days I stop for coffee on my way to work, and I have a handful of coffeeshops to choose from along my route – Starbucks, of course, but also, Herkimer Coffee, Caffe Vita, Chocolati Café, Makeda Coffee and Diva’s. I might stop at Ken’s Market for a piece of fruit for lunch or a loaf of bread for supper. A quick errand might take me to the Phinney Ridge TrueValue Hardware Store or other local shops and eateries. I’m supporting local businesses and building a sense of community, two key rewards of walking.

 

Walking gives an immediacy to the seasonal changes around me, unlike driving where a glass window separates me from the air, the weather, and sounds. When I walk, I know my environment through my skin and in my body.

 

 

One year I made it a point to follow the seasonal changes of four maple trees in a parking strip two blocks into my walking commute. During my “Year of Tree Watching” I photographed and documented the changes in these trees every week or so – from dormant winter buds to flowers and leaves, to the fall of maple leaves.

 

“. . . walking is not only a joy in itself, but that it gives an intimacy with the sacred things and the primal things of earth that are not revealed to those who rush by on wheels.”

-- from “Traveling Afoot” by John Finlay

 

 

My walks to work are in the spirit of discovery and celebration of the natural world. My greatest joys are in noticing the seasonal changes in the yards and gardens I pass – small things that put me in touch with the grand movements of the Universe. Simply by paying attention, I am rewarded by the sight of a spider web glistening with dew, a hummingbird flitting in a crocosmia blossom, the pink glow of the sky at sunrise.

 

 

 

 

Done