It's only half a mile

around our block. Our neighborhood is relatively small and has no pass-through streets. Walks are a safe way to kill some time. How much time? Well, our half-mile loop can easily take 45 minutes...and that's if we don't stop and talk to anyone...which is rare since we know just about everyone along the route.
Today, I chronicled our adventure. Yes, I wore my camera around my neck and looked like an all-around dofus, but I finally have a visual explanation for Brett when he asks "how can it take you that long to go around the block?".
Leaving the house...there's usually a quick race somewhere in our own yard.
Then there's the stop at Bogey's mailbox flowerbed (that would be our next-door neighbor)...that gets us to 5 minutes
A little numeral-recognition lesson in front of various houses (here we're still at Bogey's..no progress...3 more minutes...up to 8 now)
This bit makes me queasy- they insist on walking on the curbs above the storm drains like balance beams. Lather, rinse, repeat at least three times per drain (this one happens to be in front of...you guessed it...Bogey's house...if you're following me, that's over 10 minutes to make it one house down the street)
Street rock.
Hmmm...odd looking mushrooms. Must inspect. I'm guessing we're up to 15 minutes now- and only 4 houses down.
This is the best rock-collecting spot along the way. Pick them up here...
...and drop them in front of the next house (doesn't matter- we don't know them). Then check out the construction going on at Ms. Susan's house, push the (empty) swing at Ms. Alison's...we're up to 25 minutes now
Is the bunny still there? Highly possible since this house's owner isn't terribly concerned with his undergrowth. Rabbit heaven. Neighbor nightmare.
Street finger wound. That one puzzled me.
Oooo...the semi-circle. Random asphalt anomaly that demands squealing "my semi-circleeeee" and sprinting the last 10 yards toward it. Makes for a nice rest stop and, considering we've been at it 30 minutes now, we need it.
Ms. Sterling's Bunny Rabbit Ears. Soft. Touch only.
The little angel in Ms. Kasten's mailbox flower pot. He usually needs a pat on the head.
Another balance beam! Three rounds of this ought to get us to 35 minutes.
Funny little "baby with a chipmunk/frog/squirrel on his tummy" (kids never can remember what it is so they just pick one- it's actually a chipmunk)
By this point, we're about to turn the last corner for home and my patience is waning. Or gone. The last 5 houses go by painfully slowly and there's really nothing interesting of note to entertain them along the way. Finally, 45 minutes later, we arrive home. Some of us ready for a nap, others ready to sing Christmas carols at the tops of their lungs in their beds for 20 minutes.