Random glimpses of nature in the city...

First up... the Urban Wild.

When thinking about the perils of the Urban Athlete... what comes to mind?

Blazing a trail through The Asphalt Jungle?

Having to fend off the "Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat..."while trying to get a few miles in?

Several months ago, I paid homage to the Semi-Urban Athlete. Today I am looking at the flipside... where nature intrudes upon man's construct.

Although this city ranked 5th in the nation's City Crime Rankings in 2010...nature and all her bounty are in abundance. It is rather surprising to be running in a city like this one and see actual wildlife! But just the other day, I stumbled upon this scene...

can you see it? under the tree? 

and here's the mama deer and her baby (click to biggify)

Hard to see? 

They call it camouflage...

Helps animals blend into their surroundings ;-)

I know what you're thinking... "so....ummmm....yeah... it's a deer...big whoop" and your wondering "where's the peril?" And maybe you live in the real mountains like in Colorado or Montana or some place with forests and bears and stuff. But the pictures above were taken within a five-minute drive of hardcore ghetto (see below) and in the midst of a fancy-ish residential neighborhood. Sometimes these deer do literally go slumming... I've seen it (but I was too slow and too stunned to get a picture that time). They might learn gangsta moves when they venture into the rougher neighborhoods, or they might be rabid... or both. So... yeah... possible peril. Amazing what can exist almost side by side.

image by Yung Grasshopper

...source and interesting op-ed piece

Next up... Natural Beauty on the Road in Town

This next series of Nature-In-The-City photos wasn't shot while I was engaging in any sort of athletics. And it raises the question:  While it is illegal in many states to text while driving... and I am assuming this law would extend to updating Facebook statuses and tweeting, right? ... is it illegal to take pictures while driving?

There was no way I was passing this up, though...

I noticed amazing things were starting to happen while I waited for the light to turn green...

Heading due west on that same street, a mile (and less than 5 minutes later) this was the scene while waiting for yet another red light...

This does make it look a lot more yellow-orange than it really was... it was more peachy-reddish...

same intersection as above.

Things continued to morph once we got on the freeway...

Sometimes even beautiful, natural things can occur in Top 10 Crime Cities...

O... you're saying I probably broke the law?

Throw the book at me then... but can you make sure it's a really big book and aim well so that it hits my "bible bump"?

It's right under my middle finger... really.