Things what I did see cos of I was looking

My blog has caught up with my scrapbook (meaning both are now a month behind), so today I want to take a detour from telling you about what I've been doing, and tell you about I've been seeing instead.

It occurred to me today, while on my daily walk, that so few of the people I wandered past were actually looking at what was around them. OK, so very few people have the luxury of a three month "holiday" and are probably rushing onto the next thing in their busy lives. But as an example, today, among other things, I saw a swallow attacking a grackle (crow-like bird), two swallows perching prettily above my head, and in the water: a big turtle swimming around, two frogs sat on a plank, and a tiny tiny turtle!

And the thing that gets me is that people from the nearby business school were using the path by the walkway as a smoking area, and not one person even noticed the frogs! They were so pretty and sat there for ages, and I was the only person who even gave them a second glance! So here's the question: am I the weird one for getting so much pleasure from these little things I see on my walks every day? I like to think that everyone else is missing out, but maybe no-one else requires these moments to get through the day. Thoughts? Feel free to comment!

Other things I've seen on my walks which have made me pull out my camera:

Don't know why, but this duck in the flowers caught my eye:

A gorgeous dog waiting patiently for its owner on a jetty:

The sun making the water sparkle on a sunny day:

Two birds having a chat:

A volleyball tournament:

Ducklings:

Statues in Mount Vernon:

The view back down Charles Street from the Washington Monument:

Of course some things, like this big ship, are impossible for anyone to miss:

In fact I've been lucky enough to come across some fun events while on my little journeys, several of which involved large boats!  I got a bit of a shock the day I walked around the corner arriving in Fells Point to find this MASSIVE Japanese defense ship (more on that another day):

And then two days later I came across another massive ship making it's way into the Inner Harbour!

I've also spotted Baltimore's mayor a couple of times. Once at this event, which made me laugh because I have never seen so much fuss being made out of the opening of a new restaurant. They really go all out over here, there were speeches and ribbon-cutting and everything!

And then last Wednesday I stumbled across this:

Which I found out later was a press conference launching the "Star-Spangled Sailabration" which is an event taking place this coming weekend (starting tomorrow actually) celebrating the bicentennial of the declaration of war on Great Britain. I know, I shouldn't be as excited about this as I am, but there are going to be lots of ships, and free tours of said ships! And nobody knows I'm British unless I open my mouth, so as long as I keep schtum it should be fine, I'm sure no-one will try declaring war on me for old times' sake anyway! I hope... And anyway, the banner says they welcome the world, of which I am part.

These blokes look friendly enough. I think.

So have you seen anything that made you smile recently? Let me know in the comments, and make me smile too :)