The winds of change roared through here in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Mother Nature’s winds similarly roared through Wednesday, then Thursday … and today as well. In its wake, that wind whisked those beautifully hued, crinkly and crackly leaves from trees, depositing them in swirling piles on sidewalks and lawns.

At the beginning of the week, the canopy of trees that arches over Emmons Boulevard was still a kaleidoscope of colors – today those same leaves littered the street. In Wyandotte, the homeowners are permitted to rake their leaves to the curb, no matter how high they are piled, and the City deals with them in one fell swoop.  There were leaf piles a ’plenty all along the Boulevard.

For the most part, the Halloween décor and campaign signs have vamoosed, but the goofy-looking gourds and scarecrows remain, extending the harvest décor just a little longer. Believe it or not I saw a house with a naked Christmas tree in the window.  Gasp!  It seemed unbelievable, but, we are getting our first hard freeze tonight – there go the annuals that still dot the landscapes along the way, and now the incidence of black ice on cement and asphalt becomes more prevalent.  I even donned my Winter coat this morning, after freezing on yesterday’s trek.

My last stop on this Veterans Day was to Memorial Park making it slightly over a four-mile jaunt. Onward and upward I go toward my goal … I lost a few days this week due to furnace repair and errands, but Thursday and today I was back on the road again.  I’ve got 666 miles walked in 2016 as of today.

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” – Emily Bronte