A Walk in Our Neighborhood

We don't have much of a neighborhood- not that it isn't great, it just isn't very big.  We live in a little valley between two small hills in the no-man's-land between Aracta and Eureka.  To the west there is the bay, to the south there is marsh, to the north there is mostly cattle land, and to the east there is a mixture of horse property and a few homes.  When we walk around our little neighborhood it isn't rare to come across a horse, chicken, goat, frog, snake, deer, or fox.  When we sit out in our yard it is very peaceful.  The only noise we hear is the occasional bird chirp, rooster crow, and dog bark.  The wind doesn't even seem to touch us here in this protected place.

The only downside of this neighborhood is that trying to go for a walk (not a little walk, but a good-get-your-heart-beating walk) is nearly impossible.  By the time you reach the end of one of the three dead ends, only a few minutes have passed.  The only option is to head out of the little valley toward the cutoff- a road with a bit of traffic.  Erik and I decided to venture out this way one sunny afternoon with the kids and Guinness.  We walked just beyond our valley to a small trail maintained by the Humboldt Area Foundation.  It took about 10 minutes to walk there... rather, it took 10 minutes for Cairo to walk there.  We walked the small loop through the redwoods and headed back, passing the horse pastures along the way.  It's nice having such beautiful paths so close to home.