An absolutely perfect Fall day! I started my morning with a trek to Council Point Park, then walked to Wyandotte toward the river, and finally reluctantly headed home rather than risk shin splints. I walked a total of five miles and am happy to report I have now beaten the car’s mileage by 2.75 miles, thus I have earned my half-gallon of Honeycrisp apple cider. My stats on my sweet success are as follows:

Total miles walked as of 09/28/13: 318.75
Total miles driven as of 09/28/13: 316.00
Thus, I have walked 2.75 miles more than I drove the car in 2013.

I may be able to stay ahead of the car’s mileage for the balance of this year if there are minimal errands to be run and the weather cooperates like it has the last few weeks. Unfortunately, the days are getting shorter, so the likelihood of getting three or more miles in daily will diminish and rain will put a damper on the morning walk as well. My next goal will be to reach 400 miles before year-end.

Council Point Park was the first stop on my walk. It was very tranquil there this morning. There was one jogger on the path and one sprinter running back and forth across the grassy area between the paths. The fog was present again in the Park’s shallow baseball and soccer fields and there were several gaggles of geese in each field. It seemed as if the fog was creeping up their legs so all you saw was their waddling bodies and long, graceful necks bending down to graze as they seemingly glided along in a mist created by dry ice special effects. As I watched the geese in the foggy fields, right on cue I heard the unmistakable low humming of a foghorn from the river. As I walked along the water’s edge, I saw a Sandhill Crane between the reeds on the banks of the Ecorse Creek. I stopped, and ducked behind a bush, hoping to see the crane foraging for food, but it remained motionless the entire time I paused so I moved on. That’s a first for me at this Park; a Facebook friend posted a picture of a Sandhill Crane in her Milford neighborhood earlier this week so I could readily identify it. The songbirds were just delightful, as they appeared to be outdoing one another, each with their own unique song, while I wound my way around the two-mile path. When I finished at the Park, I walked toward the train track and I heard a train’s horn repeatedly blowing, its long and mournful sound interrupting the still morn. Then the horn finally stopped, followed by the creaking and rattling sound of the train as it groaned along the railroad tracks.

I finally headed home, after taking the longest route I know to rack up the steps to get to five miles. I passed the house where, as I detailed in my September 1st blog post “Corncobs”, I told the older man who tends the garden out back that he reminded me of Farmer Jack, of local supermarket fame. As I approached the house, I noticed some harvest décor around the yard, including a few scarecrows lined up like soldiers along the fence. I mused that perhaps the scarecrows were not harvest décor at all, but were guarding his garden. Today, once again he carried a large wicker basket filled with his garden veggies. He nodded his head to me to acknowledge my “good morning” greeting because his hands were full. He was wearing his perpetual straw hat, a flannel plaid shirt and worn-looking denim pants. The resemblance between him and the scarecrows was evident, but I refrained from commenting that a scarecrow was his doppelganger, even in jest, because that just may not be interpreted as complimentary.

I came home and changed clothes and got out in the yard to round up the yard ornaments, pots and baskets and corral them in the garage. This was easier said than done. It’s a small garage and alot of garden paraphernalia has been accumulated through the years, but I finished three hours later. There is absolutely no room for one more thing. The shelves which line the driver’s side of the garage are great for organizing and stacking but it becomes dicey to enter and exit the car, especially when wearing a bulky Winter coat. I stopped looking for new garden ornaments a few years back once I had to encroach into the basement with my white rocking chair, colonial blue pout chair, Precious Moments resin figurines and St. Francis statue. My hose reel/hose has overwintered at my next-door neighbor Marge’s garage for nearly twenty years.

Less is more – it’s my new mantra!