Walking around my neighborhood is a little different then it would be if I were in my hometown. I currently live in an apartment complex with about 17 buildings. Each room has four bedrooms and are three stories tall. Outside my bedroom is a view of the parking lot. But, if you look closely, you can see a lake on the other side of the parking lot.
This lake actually sold me on signing the lease because there is a beautiful pathway that runs the whole way around it.
This is a very good escape for me because I love to take morning and evening walks around it. There are two fountains in the center of the lake which provide beautiful scenery. I know the pathway around the lake gets used quite a lot from joggers and pet walkers. The apartment complex has planted a great number of tree and plants while maintaining the appearance of the property. 
The only animals I have seen around the complex are raccoons, armadillo, squirrels, and rabbits. There is a rabbit who is always outside of my apartment that will actually come up to us! We put out lettuce and carrots and he will eat right out of our hand! (PICTURE)Another animal that is in the lake is alligators. I have yet to see one and I'm not sure I want to!
In two corners of the complex are huge trash compactors. I just wish the complex had some kind of recycling center next to the trash compactors because I feel a lot of the students would use them. There is no green design except the shuttle bus that runs to and from campus. From what I see quite a bit of students use it. I would if it were more convenient to my class times. This area is not really my sense of place. I am used to more of a country setting like my hometown, but I will have to make due with this for now. I am the type to recycle and do my part, but it is not very easy to do that here. After writing and thinking about this blog entry, I am going to propose a plan to the staff at my apartment complex about a recycling system. Its a start to making my new place like home.
