Walked one of my favorite towns with a great friend today. Well, actually I walked Ellicott City before he got there and then we walked Oella. I felt good but put on an extra mile or two that my feet could have lived without. But surprisingly everything else felt great after the hike.

There are few things that I love more than summer mornings with temps in the 60’s and 70’s with a nice breeze to make life special.

Blue skies are a nice touch also and add a little red white and blue and we are cooking with juice.

I should thank my better half for allowing me a few hours to photograph and chat with a very old friend. It was a great conversation as it always is and one I hope to make more frequent. It’s good to get out and he is an avid walker. I hope I don’t hold him back to much. Maybe some more practice and I’ll be able to hold a better pace. I think I’ll get out on Sunday morning as well.

I do love old stone buildings. And this town has a few.

This structure above was our first office when we launched our own weekly newspaper. I enjoyed the short commute and being back in Ellicott City where I started my newspaper career. I believe its a legal and title group now that occupies it.

Ellicott City seems to be an example of what small business strength is all about. The risk of doing business in this town that’s been flooded a few times. The reliance of getting people out of big box stores and down to a neighborhood shop. The hard work and limited space they all deal with.

I could sit and watch the classic cars and bikes tool through town. I can walk and be greeted by total strangers and wished a good morning with almost every passing person. I can lean over the bridge and watch the families of ducks. You can see store windows done with style and thought.

You can peer into spaces between homes and businesses and see wonderful garden treats. You can find many talented artists inside stores and out on the streets.

At least I got out this day and worked at a craft I love. Sometimes I feel selfish about taking photos and working on this blog. But in a lot of ways, it makes me very happy and hopefully will continue to give me enjoyment in my senior years. And who knows, maybe others will find things they like.

Random Thoughts of the Day

• Balance out thinking and doing then smile about the accomplishments.
• I love getting pictures of my granddaughter on days I can’t be with her.
• It seems the more I photograph and write the less time I have to read.
• Having conversations about what we can do to improve this country is something all of us should be doing each day. Who knows, there might be a winning idea someplace.
• My walking partner today was like a treadmill that had the incline set at the moutain level.