So the sun was nearly set, and I said "Let's go!" Julia was glad to get out, too. I thought we'd have a quick round in Smucker's Park, but the parking lot was full of cars. Overfull of cars, for several had parked illegally. I spied an open spot at the end, and tried to enter, when Julia said, "That's a handicapped spot. There's a huge fine if you're caught parking there!" I couldn't see it, maybe if I hadn't of worn sunglasses, I still couldn't have seen it. So I tore off out of the parking lot in a huff.

I was really peeved. But I was determined to have that walk. So we went all the way to West Wetlands Park. The sun had almost completely set by the time we arrived. But that made the air nice and cool. As the sky darkened, a huge chorus of crickets, ducks honking to each other and some birds that sounded like cats mewing, but a little higher pitched gave plenty of aural stimulation to compensate for the lack of complete visuals. (Remember, I still had the sunglasses.) We walked to where 'the sentinel' (the ever vigilent soldier) is, walked around him and back out on the way out.

It was an invigorating walk and I felt much better afterwards.

A trip to get provisions, and a tasty green salad with avocado slices later, I felt ready to scour the web for inspiration. I often go to Wikipedia to see if the items on the main page intrigue me. I followed a link to 'recent deaths', and learned the fate of Natasha Richardson, the poor actress who'd had the freak sking accident. She fell on a beginner's trail but "did not show signs of injury until an hour later," as reported by the BBC.

Wikipedia features a photo of her, giving a link to the larger, from which I sketched:

(11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009)
(More details available at the portrait gallery page)