Noticing v - afternoon walk

Our dog, Milo, gets us out for an afternoon walk every day, rain or shine (though the walk is short if it's raining). Today was a glorious afternoon: warm, with rich light from the lowering sun. We decided to go to one of our favorite spots, a road in the neighboring city of Seaside that is closed to traffic. It leads into the former Fort Ord, shut down as an army base 25 years ago and now a vast playground of BLM and National Monument lands.

Lately, the water company has been putting in pipes where we usually park, so today we went to a new trailhead. It was nice to explore different territory, though we ended up coming back along our usual path through a scrubby oak forest. I took some photos. I love the shapes of the trees and the brilliance of the (yes) poison oak, though most of it has lost its leaves now and is cleverly camouflaged as bare sticks. The pine cones and bits of decayed dog toys mark the memorial spot of Lady, a golden retriever who used to gambol with her person, Becky, along this path; Lady was killed by a car, sadly; we still see Becky occasionally, clippers in hand, though we didn't run into her today. It's a peaceful place and always makes me feel calmer having walked through it.