Walnut Oatmeal Patties

I just got home from walking to the post office. More out of necessity than anything else. I like to walk, don't get me wrong, actually I love walking, but today there was something that needed to be mailed and I have no car. If I did I may have chosen the lazy route and drove. In the scheme of things its better to not have a car so you do walk, or you plan out your errands more carefully.
We have two cars in the family but I let everyone else have them all the time. What I need is to walk places so no car at home makes that happen more often.
Today, the wind was blowing the way it does in fall, only one difference today, its 80 out. It felt like a summer breeze with the exception of what was taking place around me. As I walked, the air was full of dancing leaves. Swirling as if in some romantic ballroom dance. The sound of the crispy dry leaves on the pavement is like no other sound. Its almost a scrapping sound but delightfully light and pleasant to the ear, no doubt due to the association of fall time.
From the sky would flutter and cascade leaves from an assortment of local trees. Pecan leaves in their finger like shape would twirl like a dervish dancing. The bigger oak leaves would just parachute down from the tops of the trees, taking their time, always appearing to be unsure where they wanted to land.
I thought about trying to take pictures of these falling leaves but wondered if a photograph could possibly catch the thrill in seeing them fall in person. I decided not to try. Some things are meant to be experienced in the here and now. At the post office I had plenty of time to chat with the lady that works at the window. We discussed her Starling that she has raised and now talks up a storm. I had no place to get to in a hurry.
It seemed sad to me that so many cars were whizzing past me, their drivers unawares of the joy of a walk on a fall day. I stopped to watch a grouchy squirrel in a tree I passed under as he scolded me for coming too close to his cache in the hollow of his tree. In a car I would have missed that. An elderly lady watched me pass her house, her door open to let in the breeze, she hesitantly waved at me and I gave her a heartily hello and a wave back. In a car I would have missed her. The one and only police car we have in town during the weekdays drove past me. I know him, so we exchanged hellos. I picked up a couple of really nice looking pine cones on the road and thought about how its like being a kid when you walk. You see neat things along the road and take them home with you.
Mrs. Findlay's house is still empty, she passed away last winter. They are asking way too much rent so it will stay vacant until they get the picture and lower the rent . Its a really nice house, but this is just a small hick town.
I have time to remember what a crabby old lady she was and how she yelled at everyone who stepped near her curb.
Her well manicured lawn was more to her than relationships I guess. What a way to be remembered. If I was in a car I would have passed by without a thought and without that reminder to never be that way. I want a different legacy after I am gone. Her house was filled with treasures, but she was too grouchy to have company. We have some of her things, bought at an estate sale. Now they are shared and enjoyed.
Walks let you be philosophical about the most mundane things. It gives you time to ponder what's around you.
I saw a frozen pizza box sticking out of the neighbors trash on my way by and I thought about the sodium in those things. That simple thing, made me feel more committed to eating better. Can you see how it works when you walk. You think, not rushed thoughts or road rage kinda thoughts. Slow deliberate thinking or just plain random thoughts that take you places you maybe need to go in your thinking.
Those leaves swirling around did a lot for me today. Not much stress going on here and besides all this thinking, I got some good exercise.
I was trying to figure out what picture to include with this post and came up with this one of my daughter Melanie. She looks so peaceful laying in the grass. No stress, just enjoying the moment and it summed up to me how I feel today.