The sunrise this morning was so lovely I actually stepped outdoors to take a photo, rather than just shooting it through the window.

Ashley and I have been figuring out how the dog should be walked, in order to get her enough exercise that she isn’t a pest, and to make sure that she doesn’t have “accidents” in the house. Here’s how things seem to be shaping up:
The Fourth Walk doesn’t always happen, if she doesn’t seem to need to go out before our main meal of the day, so some days we’re already down to six walks per day. (We were doing about eight walks per day for the first several weeks, as anything less led to peeing or pooping in the house.)
Longer term, I’m hoping to get down to about four walks: First walk, Long walk of the morning, Long walk of the afternoon, and Just before bedtime.
Wish me luck.
Although we’re doing slightly fewer walks, we’re probably walking longer distances—I’m averaging a full 8 miles per day last week and this week.
One of the many advantages of living here at Winfield Village is that we have a dog park!
My brain wants me to get up when it starts getting light outside. Works great most of year—I wake up between 5:30 and 6:30. When sunrise doesn’t happen until after 7:00, my brain decides something has gone wrong, and wakes me up at 4:30. Not convenient.
This handsome fellow was hanging out right outside our front window, vibrating the tip of his tail as if he had a rattle. East-Central Illinois.
@alongsidewild A fox snake?
I call shenanigans. That is a curb, not a ramp.
Winfield Village isn’t nearly as big or as dense as what Steve Randy Waldman means by microcities. But it and adjacent complexes house a few thousand people near a handful of bus stops (along with a grocery store, two drug stores, a shoe store, several restaurants, and a movie theater).
“high density exurban developments, subject to constraints including a minimum population size and, importantly, a requirement that the entire city be built within walking distance of a central transit station.”
Source: interfluidity » Microcities