The linear park changed a lot over the last couple of months. There is now much vegetation and it doesn’t look like the desert.
We often walk the linear parkway from Room Street east to Saliman Road (and sometimes beyond). There are lots of birds and a few other critters we encounter along the way. Some areas are infested with California Ground Squirrels, which The Girl loves to chase. Dogs are permitted to be off-lead and it’s a good place to give her a run.
The winter months held this area in bleak grays. There was some water, of course, and a few waterfowl. But mostly it was cold, gray, and dead. When we walked the path a few days ago, I noticed that it now looks like a wetland. (It is.) The contrast was a little startling and called for an image.
This is one of the structures along the perimeter of the quadrangle area. The structures are used only for storage now. At one time this was a thriving community of teachers and orphans.
I started carrying my Fuji X-T1 a few days ago on our daily walkies. I decided that enough time passed that I should be carrying a real camera again, with good glass. Mornings are one of my favorite times to make images, especially early when the sun is low.
The Girl and I have walked this area many times (almost every day since returning to Carson). It was once an orphanage and school run by the State of Nevada. Now it’s only a collection of structures used by the state for storage. Sometimes the structures are used by Carson City Sheriff’s deputies to work K-9 units. Most of the time the area is populated (sparsely) by canines and their handlers.
We love the green, the large trees, and the fact that off-leash work is permitted. Most of the others who visit are friendly, or at least polite. The Girl loves to romp in the grass and there are plenty of California ground squirrels to chase. They are cagey, though, and she has yet to catch one of them in this area. (Some others have not been quite so fortunate, though.)
On this particular morning we walked on the capitol grounds. I was hoping for something interesting to present itself for a photograph. There was no joy, however. But this capture was one that pleased me. So I thought I would share it.
The site of the historic Carson City lumberyard and flume, with a very happy dog.
It’s difficult to imagine, but a century-and-a-half ago this site was covered with logs from the Sierra Nevada waiting to be processed into timber for mining and other applications. A large flume was used to convey the harvested logs to this site, where they were staged for milling.
Now it’s a linear parkway and a favorite place for dogs and handlers to play. When we do morning walkies in town, it is one of our favorite routes. The Girl loves the fact that ground squirrels populate the area and provide prey to chase. Then she loves the cool, moist grass (obviously) for a nice romp and roll after hunting rodents. I like the cool that emanates from the grass and the shade of the large trees surrounding the site. Plus there is a sense of history that hangs here. I know that men worked this area to make a living. Their energy still lives here. It is nearly tangible.
The Girl’s vet called me a couple of days ago. The mass he was concerned about was a hemagiopericytoma, which is an old term for a soft tissue sarcoma. The pathologist called it Grade 1, which means that there is a 15-percent probability that it will return or metastasize. The margins were clear so he got all of the dangerous tissue. It is the best we can do and I’m not going to worry about it.
But I still f*ing hate cancer. I remind myself regularly that there is only here, there is only now.
