Today is officially the first day I have entered the sacred, blessed state of menopause! Which has nothing whatsoever to do with dog walking at dawn, but is important to me. I’ve looked forward to this for many years. I’ll be writing a longer blog post on my website about it but I still wanted to share!!!
As is usual now, this is a long form post written in 20 minutes instead of ten. I’m sure it will meander.
Have a picture! (yes the dog is blurry b/c she hates being photographed, grrrr)
This is what I love about dawn, in these later walks where I get to actually see it: the mix of shadow and light across the scenery, making everything look innocent and fresh like a Disney movie. It doesn’t last but moments such as these are definitely like childhood.
Winter has returned for a bit, so it was very cold (38°F!). Here in north Florida winter is measured in weeks, and inconsistent weeks at that. Winter comes and goes. Winter was two weeks ago and also this morning. Winter will be gone by this afternoon when we get up to 70°F.
Nonetheless I took us down to Lake Ella, which is very literally “down” from where I live on a small hill. Tallahassee is known for its “seven hills” and while I personally don’t think of it as hilly, compared to my beloved mountain ranges, I do live on an actual hill. The walk down to Lake Ella is at least a 25 foot drop in altitude, possibly more. Tallahassee is only about 200 ft. above sea level, give or take (ref. “hills”) so that drop is fairly substantial in cold weather.
However it was not windy, and traffic on Thomasville Rd. picks up after 7:00 a.m. even on weekends so down we went. The usual route at an unusual time, but naturally Keely was not bothered as long as she got to pause and sniff all the spanish moss on the ground (she did).
I noticed the lone restaurant building, the southern-most cottage, is still waiting to be reopened. It’s been in this limbo for over six months now. I do not expect it to ever open, and knowing of the owners what I do, I am not surprised. To be fair, it could be held up in red tape, but I feel the location is one of those cursed zones where no business will ever truly flourish, and turnover every few years is simply expected. In flights of fancy I wonder if anyone ever was murdered there, back when it was a motel. I am a skeptic and not superstitious but sometimes ya gotta wonder about some places…
That said, a few other cottages have turned over. The tailor shop is gone, and with it my dreams of one day getting clothes tailor made for me there. Such ideas are always finished with the phrase “when I have money” when has been the refrain for me since, oh, about 10 years old. Anyway, tailor shop gone and standing empty.
Part of me would love to rent it and turn it into both a writing office for myself and, I dunno, a magazine stand. Something retro like that — only magazines! All the time! Only open for a few hours every day, the rest of the time locked up tight while I write (and, let’s be honest: scroll twitter aahahaha). That would be delightful. Keely on her bed, ready to go walk the park whenever I need a break. *stops writing to dream in bliss*
The other is the flamingo sign shop, which has already been let to Avante Guarde vintage clothes. Which makes for two vintage clothes shops in the park, and I don’t know if they will compete or complement each other. I hope the latter. They do not cater to the same fashions.
Time will tell.