I like the shadow pic, and I LOVE the sidewalk w/ crack. It made my eyes wander right away, before I'd even given it any thought, to wherever the crack might be leading! I'm a real n00b as far as photography goes, but for some reason, the sidewalk pic makes me think of motion. Maybe because of the crack, maybe because sidewalks are something you walk on...anyway, it got lots of images and associations going on in my mind right away.
Edit - Oh, and the hole - - it makes me wonder if the crack was actually the trail of some small animal that came from / went into the hole.
I like the balance as well, but I really don't know anything about balance or composition - I just like it.