Strayside Stroll

Today I chose to walk an alternate route from the Safeway. I usually walk along some side streets past a variety of Victorian-style buildings and the Harrogate Baptist Church. It's a pleasant enough route, but I take it so often that I wanted a change of pace. My alternate route, which took a bit longer than my usual 10-minute stroll, is along York Place. All along one side of the street is the Stray, the grassy stretch that forms a crescent through the center of Harrogate, where already the crocuses are begininng to emerge. On the other side of the street are huge townhouses from the Victorian era. I haven't walked along York Place since the summertime when we first moved here, though I drive it often enough. For one thing, I wanted to investigate a sign I've noticed while driving. It's an orange and black sign that says "The Gables" and has a silhouette of a house. What are The Gables, I've wondered... an inn, a bed and breakfast, an historic house? Turns out The Gables are a series of brand new townhouses built to complement the surrounding original Victorian structures. Walking along York Place does bring me past an historic building -- The Cedar Court Hotel, just about a block from our apartment. The Cedar Court Hotel used to be called The Queen's Head Inn and has the distinction of being the oldest hotel in Harrogate. But the best thing about walking this new route today were the crocheted flowers I saw hanging from a hedge. They were about the size of a half dollar, faded yellow. Dozens of them, all carefully tied to the delicate branches of the hedge. Who would do such a thing? And why? Someone who just couldn't wait for the crocuses?