A Walk and a Sketch

It's been on the hot side here (80s) which makes it hard to get out to do stuff, especially in the afternoons, but I managed a few short outings over the weekend.

On Saturday, Truman and I joined a Shoreline Parks walk -- there are loads of free, guided walks offered by both Shoreline and Seattle Parks & Recreation, many of them geared to the over-50 crowd.  This one was family-friendly so I brought Truman along.  He was well-received.

We walked an easy, mostly level two miles total, starting at 1st Ave NE and 190th at Shoreline Park, then to Echo Lake, and back via Ballinger Commons.

Truman walked part of the way and strolled part of the way.  At the small public shoreline of Echo Lake we paused briefly so he could go wading, and then we headed off to Echo Lake Park.

At the park, Truman was unimpressed by a turtle statue.

It was a most enjoyable outing, the first one of these walks that I've gone on -- people were happy to chat if you wanted, and happy not to chat if you didn't.  I'll definitely check out some of the future walks coming up -- most of which are a bit more challenging with hills or steps, so Truman wouldn't be able to come.

He also did not come with me on Sunday when Tina and I went sketching at Holyrood Cemetery, a large Catholic cemetery in Shoreline.  She couldn't go until 2pm, when it was too hot for little dogs, so Tru stayed home in comfort while I found the shadiest spot I could.

We were lucky that we got a breeze, and it wasn't that uncomfortable.  I think I once again tried to do too much, trying to get everything into the drawing that I possibly could.

Today I am determined to try drawing more simply or at least with a better sense of a focal point.  Tru and I will get out this morning to the UW campus and we'll see if I succeed!