Off in the weeds

Yesterday evening I chose to walk home on top of the canal across Westheimer from our house. It took longer, but I was able to walk down the other side and get out of all the traffic. I could hear the traffic just fine. It was not as treturous walking on the inside of the bank as it was on the outside. There are things to watch out for, don't get me wrong. The bank slopes in a lumpy fashion. It was clearly built in stages.

There is a huge aria to walk on inside. More in some cases than on the outside. The last bit of the bank before the water is extremely steep and dangerous, so I keep my distance. Once you fell in, you would have a difficult time getting out on your own. I remember walking over and looking at the water when we moved in. The water was higher and didn't look very deep. I'm glad I learned that lesson long ago. It turns out a foot in from where the water was at that time, it just drops more than five or eight feet.

It is a bit private over there and a bit scary because you could get mugged and no one on the street would be able to hear you haller or see anything. That goes for falling in the water too. I let myself picture camping back there and wonder if any one from the road would notice. If you kept the light down and had no fire, I doubt any one would know until they crossed the hill. It reminded me of a time when my family camped on the beach. It turns out that was  a very dangerous thing to do. We were blessed and didn't even know it.

This morning I walked on the very top of the bank. I could see in to the area I had walked the previous evening. It was still dark and the fog on top of the water was very thick. It was flowing in the breeze. It had waves and spikes moving like marching ghosts. None of this is visible from th erode. I felt just a bit privileged. My jeans are soaked because all that fog means a ton of moisture in the grass, which is about half way knee high.

My boots soaked through this morning. I swapped to my work shoes, but my pant legs are still wet. They will be for quite some time. Normally, they do not dry until after lunch at least.

Now I want to get back up there early in the morning to take some night shots. Not sure I have the equipment to capture the marching ghosts. Worth a try.

I had wondered why one particular part of the road always had fog before the rest of the area. Well, while walking on the top of the bank, I noticed that area drops about a foot or two overall. That is good to know. If the fog over flows right there first, so will any water should it come to that.

The fog had a different affect. It almost hid the fact that there is an area of water in the middle at all. I imagined someone running from the cops and taking off over the top of the bank from Westheimer. If their lights only briefly flashed past the level of the fog, they might be fooled in to thinking the ground was solid as their headlights continued down to the bank right in front of them. Then, the water might be hidden from sight because of high grass for just a second. That might be long enough for someone to cross it and plunge in o the water if they are in a great hurry. I shined my Maglite across the fog a couple times and it seemed feasible. Funny what you think of when walking in the cold clear, wet morning.