… just perfect for a stroll in the neighborhood, and beyond.

After our soggy Saturday, I was itchin’ to get out for a long walk. This might be the very last week to view the beautiful foliage and a glance upward told me that there are many leaves wiggling on their stems, just ready to drop.  A good many leaves have already met their demise and were strewn over the lawns and sidewalks, especially slender, yellow locust leaves.  Many big-as-your-hand red maple leaves were laying there curled up and crunchy, as evident from the noise when your shoes plow through them while walking along.

I first headed over to Emmons Boulevard where the leaves on the trees, as pictured above, are at their peak. Even the fire bushes have started to turn their various shades of red, some looking jewel-like in ruby or garnet, and still others, a more sedate lipstick red … but all were worth a second glance.

Everyone must have been still tucked in their beds, because I never saw a soul the first hour I was out and I left at 9:00 a.m. It was so quiet, that as I passed some of the Halloween inflatable decorations, I could hear the humming of the fan blower, or the creaking of the larger ones as they moved back and forth on their support ropes, like this spooky pair you see above.

Sure, it was a little nippy, and the occasional gust of wind kept raking a few strands of hair that escaped from my cap and kept landing in my mouth. I zipped my coat up a little higher after a few of those lusty gusts, but the sky was clear and the sun was brilliant and warmed me up again, while making me feel glad to be alive and out enjoying the day.

I kept going and going, then crossed the railroad tracks and soon I had arrived at the corner of Emmons and Biddle at the River. The sunbeams came directly from the Heavens onto the water, causing it to sparkle and shimmer and the horizon seemed endless with no pleasure boats or freighters out yet to mar the view.

I decided to head over to the marina, where all but a half-dozen boats have been shrink-wrapped and lifted out of the water until next year. The marina’s backdrop of trees are still green, so no photo op was found there.  The seagulls were plentiful though, and I watched them gliding effortlessly through the sky, occasionally swooping down onto the rippled water where I suspect they saw a fish or something else they could snag for their breakfast.  All those seagulls that were crisscrossing the sky over the marina did so without colliding into one another, which was kind of a miracle, because, by my count, there were fifteen at one time.

I stayed a few minutes, then headed back down the Boulevard, and it was such a beautiful day I decided to detour from my regular route and go to Council Point Park to take one loop around the Park. Really, you do not need to head up North to see the colorful leaves – there were so many shades of burnished reds, rusts and gold to see and none of the trees have lost their leaves yet.

After one loop around, and no peanut pals pestering me for nuts (even though I had a small supply), I finally headed home, really reluctant to tear myself away from this perfect Fall day to head indoors, but happy to have added six more miles to my total while soaking up some sun on my Sunday stroll.

I leave you with this proverb which sums up my day: “A Sunday well spent brings a week of being content.”