Break of Day

The best time of day is just before the sun pulls back the blanket of darkness. It is also the best time of day to take a walk. The sleepy city begins to stir. Garbage trucks chuff their way through the streets. A train belches to destinations afar. Traffic lights switch from incessant flashing to a rhythm of stop and go signals. Dogs yippety-yap while they look for a good place to do their business. The stars of Orion give way to the brightness of planet lights.

An added bonus to my morning walks this time of year is the addition of holiday lighting. Let me take you along on yesterday's hike. (Warning: One image may be disturbing to some.)

My front steps are the first steps for me. True confession: I am not always in the mood to go for a walk. I tell myself that if I get down the steps without falling, I am on my way to stay. Keep going. One step at a time.

This house is always the first one in our neighborhood to put up their Christmas lights. To be fair, they have a professional company do it for them. Thus the reason all the lights are perfectly aligned and no one is in a rehab unit due to a fall.

A waxing crescent moon, shrouded in morning's haze, rides in tandem with Venus in the sky. (Okay, I made up the morning haze part. I have bad camera skills and the crescent moon blitzed on me. Use your imagination.)

I am accustomed to seeing squirrel pancakes in the street but this little guy met some other demise. It was worth hypothesizing for a block or two about how it happened. Choked on a nut, perhaps? Rest in peace, Sciurus carolinensis.

The umbrella-like tree by this house is a haven for flocks of house sparrows. I am sure they are happy to have the additional bonus of holiday lighting on their condominium. A couple of blow-up watchdogs act as doormen for security purposes. Don't mess with a Passer domesticus.

Nothing says the holidays like a flaccid puddle of fabric. I apologize if you are a fan of inflatable lawn decorations. I am not and I will leave it at that.

A trend for decorating that I am seeing in my neighborhood is red and green lighting. I rather like the effect it has on this house. It is simple and I am attracted to simple.

The exact opposite of simple is this assault on the senses. There are three side-by-side homes drinking the kool-aid of blow-ups. I was unable to get the full panoramic view of all of them but suffice it to say it is a busy bunch. A Clydesdale overlooks all the nonsense and if you guessed this is the disturbing image I warned you about, you are correct.

Even Santa flopped over from exhaustion at this house of holiday decorating gone wild.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig. Lest you think I had anything to do with the decorations on my front deck, I did not. My husband loves the festive look and he does a great job adding a little holiday cheer to our house. Left up to me, well, I am okay with my print-out picture of a Christmas tree.

Merry Christmas, my friends!