Two Walks

Rising early has its advantages, chief among them the chance to take two walks before breakfast.

My first was before 6:00 a.m., air still cool, crows still running the place. Their caws say "danger, danger, danger," but not for me. I hear jays and hawks, too, plus the rise and fall of midsummer cicadas.

The second walk was a purposeful stride from Oakton High School to the Vienna Metro Station. It's the closest place to park and not pay, so when the morning is luscious and I have the time,  I walk the mile instead of driving it.

The sights and sounds are different: Instead of crows I hear the whoosh of traffic noise, and the hawk's cry is replaced by the shrill grind of metal-on-metal as a train lumbers into the station. 

But these are quibbles. It's Monday. It's morning. And ... two walks are better than one.

(I took this en route to the Vienna Metro some years ago. The trees look like they're walking, too.)