Neighborhood Walks

My husband and I frequently take walks through our neighborhood, a community of about 110 houses.  The main street runs throughout and has several cul-de-sacs.  Fortunately, the main street has a sidewalk, but none of the cul-de-sacs do, which I find odd.  We have to walk on the street until we get to where it connects to the main road before picking up the sidewalk.
Our neighborhood is bordered by one very busy, 4-lane road with a speed limit of 55 mph and another road that is 2-lane with a speed limit of 45 mph.  Both of these roads provide access to our neighborhood.  The other two sides are bordered by slices of natural woods, with the section that abutts our property containing the watershed for the entire area. 
This neighborhood was developed in 2003 and was clear-cut of trees; landfill then leveled the area for building.  As a result, there are no large trees, and many of the trees that exist have struggled to survive through repeated summers of extreme heat and lack of rain. 
We can always count on seeing others on our walk -- people walking their dogs, parents with small children riding their tricycles, older adults strolling hand-in-hand, or people standing in their driveways talking on their cellphone, having private conversations in a public place.  Brief conversations with neighbors occur frequently, especially during the summer months when it doesn't get dark until 9 PM.
I like to look at yards while walking; I'm amazed how some people allow weeds to invade their lawn and don't trim their tree branches (making the tree look more like a shrub).  I see yards that have nothing in them other than the shrubs in front of the house and the 2 trees in the front yard, and I think of what I would do to make that yard beautiful.  It's a virtual empty canvas waiting to be painted with color!  I also see people who drive out of their garages when they go to work and drive back into them when they come home, never using their outdoor spaces.  Lawn mowing services thrive around here because people want a house but they don't want to take care of the space around it!
Smells waft on the air as we walk, too, especially during the evening hours.  Smells of cooking food (this is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic community) and laundry drying permeates the air, often making us wonder what's cooking.  In autumn, we watch as the leaves turn color and fall to the ground, leaving the trees bare and exposed.  It is then that we can see all of the bird nests that sheltered new families during the spring and summer. 
We also watch as people have their lawns reseeded every year; Fescue is the 'recommended' grass for all front lawns, but it can't tolerate heat and drought, so by the end of summer, lawns are spotty and/or barren.  One brave soul in our cul-de-sac had a variety of Zoysia grass laid in her entire yard, much to the chagrin of the Association Board.  "All lawns must look the same, and Zoysia turns brown in the winter," was their reasoning.  Ultimately, the Board gave approval for the sod to stay -- as long as winter rye is planted in the Zoysia in the winter so it is green like all the other grass!  Some rules need to change!  Zoysia (which my husband introduced to our neighbor; it's in our entire back yard) needs little watering in the summer, grows very slowly (much less mowing), and loves the southern heat and humidity; it's the perfect grass for this area, but it's not well-known and is more expensive than Fescue.  We are the only 2 houses that have Zoysia grass, but we hope that will change.
Our neighborhood is quiet, and I thank God that we have a safe place to live, a place that is bordered by and filled with nature.  I can't imagine living surrounded by concrete and tall buildings.  My skyscrapers are the pine, oak, and maple trees that surround our area, all of which will soon be ablaze with the colors of Fall when God takes out his paintbrush and goes crazy!