Evening walks: Exercising, Exploring, and Communing

We have been taking evening walks around the neighborhood lately, again. The last time we did the same was when we first moved in last year as a way to get familiar with the neighborhood. This time though, the efforts also double as an opportunity to exercise, to burn up some accumulated calories.

So we circled the neighborhood in the clockwise direction one evening. And we reversed the direction on the following evening. Then it was time to venture across to the USF campus, stopping at times to watch people (students mostly I think) playing soccer, throwing frisbees. And there was this one guy who was practicing some penalty shots on his own, overshooting the crossbar and booming the ball over the fence onto the road. The poor guy had to ease through a gaping hole in the fence to run after the loose ball.

While the scene in front of our complex was a picture of bustling activity, it being facing a main road, the walk through the neighborhood behind our complex was very quiet, not a single soul on the road. I guess all must be enjoying their dinner after a hard day's work. What a contrast!

Each walk consumed about 30 minutes or so of our evening time, not enough for us to break into a sweat but the chance to commute with nature and at the same time spending some quality time with loved ones were rewarding nonetheless. Here then, are some shots taken along our evening trails.

Sun setting below the Sun Dome, USF, casting multi-layers of horizontal bands of pink in the sky.

This is the boardwalk next to the Hillsborough River, about 10 minutes drive away. It was a perfect setting for a perfect reflection, the two parts joining seamlessly at the water surface.

This little critter was actually within feet from us, a habit borne out of familiarity with the human sight, sound, and scent, as if daring me to "shoot" it. And I obliged. Wify likes the bushy tail extending upright from behind, much like the plummage of a peacock.

Sunset over the Hillsborough River, imprinting a golden halo around it, albeit ephemeral.

This was just outside the USF baseball stadium. A game between USF and Louisville was going on. Notice the USF mascot, the Bull (you can tell by the horns), sitting idly by a tableful of green souvenirs. But a little while later we saw him moving his body with the music being blared out over the PA system (the USF Fight song?).