Clay Cottages

I try to get a 45 minute walk in the morning. A few months ago I would hope to see a heron fly over head or perhaps a couple of deer in the vineyards. Now this urban cowboy enjoys the cottages of Steel Town. One of the advantages of living in clay country is there are some great brick cottages. Our house with the trumpet vine climbing up the wall has the parapet architecture  which reminds me of the castles of the motherland where men took shelter to fire their arrows. At first I thought it looked Texan like the front of a saloon but then further reading showed the ancestry of the early settlers of Hamilton from  England, Scotland and Ireland. Damn good brick masons are those folks.
My morning walk now includes the homeless man that wished me Happy New Year, the busker out front of the Liquor Store and the yuppies with dogs as fashion accessories.  My walk now is less solitary. I will miss the smells of the country. Oh if I get too nostalgic for smell I'll walk past Wimpy's Hamburgers. I'l
l gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!

To all of you I wish you good health and happiness in 2012. Remember to eat your vegetables and walk daily. Here's to bacon the ultimate red vegetable.