Author: Layne Rodney

The other day I took the train to New Canaan and my goal was to walk back to my house in Stamford.  It is about a two hour walk.

Of course, the train was late. I had mapped out my walk. But I took the road above the train station by mistake, and when I realized my mistake, it did not make sense to turnaround.  It was going to be a longer walk than I expected.

That’s okay. New Canaan is a beautiful town with many interesting houses and stone walls. The road I took had many of them.

Here is a picture of a stone wall I walked by.  I have been going to this stone wall for the last twenty years.  It is always enjoyable to do this part of the walk.

Next time, I will tell you what is behind the stone wall that draws me to it all the time.

The last few days we had snow- and snow-covered sidewalks.  I was afraid my streak was going to end. Of course, I did not let snow stop me from walking. I used to be a mailman many moons ago and their motto is Neither snow rain or sleet will stop them. That is my philosophy now.

The streak is finding coins on my walk. The streak has lasted a month and half.  Everyday I find coins. Pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.

The strange thing is where I find the coins. Downtown Stamford is always good for finding coins. I also find coins on roads where there is no bus stop or little pedestrian traffic.

I figured the day of the storm my streak would end with the roads and sidewalks being covered in snow. But to my delight I found one coin. The streak continues for now.

On a similar vein I read an article in the NY Times titled “How to feel alive”. The main point is to commit to noticing the world around you. That is what I do when I walk and finding coins is a part of noticing the world.

A Not So Typical Morning Walk

Usually, my morning walks start at my house. Today was different. I went with my wife to my daughter’s house to feed the cats. 

I started my walk at the corner of Westover Road and Westover Ave.  Why do they always use the same name and only change road, street, avenue or Court. It used to upset me when I thought I was on the correct road. Now with GPS it is not so bad.

I start my walk heading south on Westover Ave.  I have not walked on Westover Ave and I am looking forward to the sights.

The road has many trees along the way plus a park.  One nice sight is moss.  You see it often on the north side of roads.

Suddenly the road has a new name.  This happens all the time in Stamford.

Here at least the change is due to the road entering Greenwich.

The road parallels the Mystic River and at one point the Mystic River is right next to the road.

The road ends at Palmer Hill and I head back to Stamford.  The stone walls on Palmer Hill are beautiful and look quite old.

There is an electronic speed sign and it is always interesting to see how the speed limits are disregarded around Stamford.

I am on Stillwater Road approaching downtown when I spot a nice sculpture. Stamford is full of art and sculpture.

Did you notice the barbershop in the background?  There are barbershops and hair salons all over Stamford.  Some day I will have to do a census of them. The must be at least 100 in Stamford.

Finally downtown Stamford.  I am off to the Mall for some tea at Barnes and Noble.

The walk was five miles and it took less than two hours. I enjoyed going from rural to urban in that short time frame.

As you may know I like to walk. On a good day I will walk ten to twelve miles.  Last year my daily average was 11.1 per day for a total of 4051 miles for the year.

One of my joys of walking is seeing the sights surrounding us that we never see when driving.

Last week I saw a herd of deer in the swamp literally fifty feet from me.  I never would have seen them driving.

Today I hit the jackpot. I was walking north on Atlantic Street coming up to the Old Town Hall. I looked up to see the time and there was a hawk watching the sights of downtown Stamford.

If I hadn’t been walking and looked up at that moment I never would have spotted the hawk. Quite often I will see a hawk landing on a tree.  If I didn’t see them land, they would be invisible on the tree.  They blend in very well sitting on trees.

In one sense I don’t like the leaves arriving in the Spring.  The leaves camouflage the birds and animals too well.

My goal is to spot a bear.  They are around in North Stamford.

These two pictures are some of the beautiful sights that I see when I walk.

The moss on the rock outcropping was staring right at me when I was walking on Mianus Road.  Moss is everywhere in Stamford.  But this moss just stood out. The green was just vivid, and the texture gives it a great 3-D effect. I was so tempted to take some of the moss. It is great to put moss on house plants to give them a more natural look.  I did not.  Removing moss from the rock would have taken away the beauty of rock.

The sunset was a pleasant surprise.  At this time of year, I don’t usually walk in the late afternoons.  The temperature is dropping, and I don’t like to be out when it starts to get dark.

That day I made an exception and I was walking back on Vine road when I saw the  sunset. Seeing the orange-red sky against the silhouette of the trees is stunning. Seeing sunsets like this is a winter opportunity only.  The rest of the year the sun sets later, and the leaves block out the sunsets.

I shall keep on walking and sharing the natural beauty that is all around us.

Last week was a challenge for many people in the United States.  Snow, cold weather, disruptions for travel and last-minute Christmas shopping.

Even I had challenges.  I had some last-minute shopping to do, and the temperature was 5 degrees Fahrenheit. My challenge was to walk or not to walk in the frigid weather

People always ask me do I walk in cold weather and my answer is always I am good to walk with five degrees and the sun.  Well, that day it was five degrees, and the sun was shining. Walking it was.

I layered up and I had a covid face mask on when I started the walk.  The face mask makes the difference. The only issue is you have to change the mask every ten minutes as it gets soaked.

Two miles to the store walking.  I did the shopping and headed back home.  The temperature had risen to nine degrees, and it was noticeable. The only issue I had with the walk was my feet got cold.  The cold pavement just sucked the heat from my feet. Last post for the year. Have a great new year and keep on walking

People always ask me if I walk during the cold winter.  My answer is I am good to walk in the cold down to five degrees in the sun.

This weekend was my first winter challenge. The temperature was just over freezing.  The winds were sustained and gusting.  There was even ice on the local pond

So, I went all out.  The above picture is my extreme winter outfit.  The wool coat alone weighs ten pounds. The coat keeps me very warm.  The only thing missing is my face mask.  I found out during Covid that face masks do a nice job of keeping your face warm.  The only issue is you must change them every ten minutes as they get soaked.

I am ready to walk this winter no matter what the temperature.  I am not sure if I will walk in a Blizzard.  Stay tuned

My walk this week was disturbed by gang violence on Franklin Street again. The violence came out of nowhere. I was peacefully walking down the street when I heard a guttural sound that was most disturbing. Looking around I saw the attack. Crows attacking a hawk. The hawk was somewhat smaller than the typical hawk in Stamford. I did not realize the hawk could make such a sorrowful noise.  Luckily the attack was soon over, and the hawk flew away.

This was my second attack by crows in the last few months. Last time they attacked a raven. You would have thought a child was being attacked from the screaming of the raven.

I have learned that crows are very territorial and will attack other competing birds in the territory.

This event is another reason I enjoy walking   It is amazing all the wildlife hidden in plain sight in Stamford. Only by walking do I observe a small percentage of Wildlife that coexists with us in Stamford, CT. 

My biggest hope is to see a bear some day.  They are in the area.

Stamford is a great town to walk in.  However, there is one issue that is annoying to me and my fellow travelers.  Horn honking. Based on my observations 99% of horn honking is unnecessary and downright obnoxious

The other day I had three honking incidents. The first one involving me.  I waited for the light to turn green and started walking. The lead car was turning left and was waiting for me to cross the road to turn.  The driver in the second car started to honk the horn not knowing I was crossing the street.  I hear this horn action all the time.

The second incident was at Bedford and Forest. A car was blocking another car from turning into Forest. They laid on the HORN for at least twenty seconds.  It did no good at all. The car on Forest Street couldn’t move.

The third horn incident was sad and ironic.  I was waiting on Broad Steet for the light to change to cross the intersection.  The second car honked at the first car to make a right on red. Finally, the car turned right, and the honker followed the car and almost hit the car crossing the intersection. The driver was too angry to look and see if it was clear to make a right on red.

I wish I could say this day was unusual. Sadly, it is not.