A pleasant pre-Christmas stroll

@mtierney, I thought you would have loved this?

This is a time of year for me, nostalgia for earlier times in Maplewood. Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas, were filled with kids in the village in the days and chill evenings. College kids, returning and meeting with friends.

Dickens' Village is open and kids were lined up for the petting zoo and other weekend attractions.

For years, kids would meet in the high school parking lot and play frisbee. For some reason.. Covid? I haven't seen kids in the lot.

The village's main road is Maplewood Avenue. It is half filled with outdoor restaurant cabanas which are now, mostly empty. Tonight, it was home to several groups of kids (Jr high, high school)  sitting on the benches and enjoying being with each other.

I put suet cakes our for the birds. Sparrows, finches and nuthatches are coming in and out of the yard to peck at the suet. On top of the Oak, is a Mockingbird. He owns the yard. He is bigger than the other birds that visit and most of the time, he chases them out. Today, he is leaving them alone.

Winter begins next week.