The Enchanted Neighborhood

It is a common occurrence on Mondays and Wednesdays, the walk through the enchanted neighborhood. You may not believe me now, but maybe you will when I finish. In this neighborhood the sun always shines as I walk the baby and dog I take care of (if it rains, we just stay inside).  We peruse the streets, picking carefully which ones to turn down and which ones to save for another day. Some days the three of us decide to only walk the truly enchanted streets, and other days we take a chance and walk the dormant ones, the ones just waiting for their magic to burst through their doors and into their yards. You see, in a neighborhood without codes or regulations, the enchantment can run wild. There are yards filled with wildflowers who have no care in the world, replacing the boring old grass that could be there. There are houses that come straight from storybooks and I always peek extra long to see if Hansel and Gretel will come out and offer me some sweets. There are rows and rows of roses, all colors, and gardens that must have fairies living in them. There are mansions next to Spanish haciendas, followed by the house that is more wildlife than anything else. Each home is completely different and each yard reveals the characters that live inside them. The swings hanging from trees and the fruit hanging from branches both watch us as we pass by, and I can picture Alice and the Queen of Hearts running through the perfectly green grass with the rabbit not too far behind. 


As I walk with baby and dog I begin to think that maybe the movies and tv shows aren't filmed in L.A. because of Hollywood. I am beginning to think that maybe things are filmed here because there is magic in these neighborhoods. 


So today as the yellow finch fluttered into the twisted tree, and the mint condition model-T car rolled down the shaded street, I whispered to the baby and the dog that maybe, just maybe, enchantment doesn't only exist in the movies.