It was crisp and invigorating this morning when I set out for Council Point Park. The wicked winds from these past few blustery days have whisked alot of the leaves onto the sidewalks and they were all curled up and crunchy when I scuffed along through them, now brittle remnants of their former beauty. The sunny morn with its brilliant sun belied the cold temps and the grass was still tinged with a wee bit of frosting. We sure came close to dipping down to the freezing mark last night. I’ll bet those runners were very cold at the 7:00 a.m. start time for the marathon. I glanced up at the sun after it glinted off my glasses, momentarily blinding me with its rays, and it warmed my upturned face. That felt so good and I wanted to stop and just bask in the sun. I looked for Ruby on her front porch, but she was absent again, though the big rocker hasn’t been hauled into the house yet signifying that she has shut it down for the season. Once at the Park, as I entered the trail, I saw Donna, the rollerblader, swigging from a bottle she had placed on a picnic table under the pavilion. That told me she had already been there for awhile. I almost didn’t recognize her as she was clad in long pants, a Sherpa jacket, muffler, earmuffs and warm wool mitts. I’m used to seeing her in shorts and a tee-shirt as she whips along the trail at the speed of sound, passing all us walkers by. We greeted one another, chatted a bit then started on the path together, with her skating more slowly and me picking up the pace a little to keep up with her. It had been one week since I was at the Park and my eyes were darting around for a wayward raccoon or deer lurking in the bushes, but there no critters crossing our path, save for a few squirrels who begged shamelessly for a treat to tide them over ‘til they could remember where they buried their treasured nut goodies. I’ll have to start tucking a Ziploc pack of peanuts in my pocket for my furry friends going forward … I forgot after I switched to my heavier coat. Donna and I went two times around the Park and I left to walk home and she was ready to take on another few laps before departing. As I headed home, I walked even slower to enjoy the kaleidoscope of colors in the trees that still sported their fine-looking foliage, and finished up by adding another five miles to my total for good measure.