I left the house earlier than usual this morning, while anticipating another refreshing walk.  I decided to tack on those extra steps in order to pass the 500-mile mark, so I’ve now walked 501 miles in 2017.

Just like the past two days, the air felt Fallish and very comfortable for walking.  The cooler temps made we realize that Labor Day, the unofficial end to Summer, is now less than a month away.  Soon all the delightful pumpkin-spiced treats will be available and people will be queuing up to buy apple cider and donuts.

Another sign of Fall is that the apples are already ripening on trees around the Park.  I’ve also seen them strewn along the perimeter path for a few weeks now.  Though they are not full-sized apples, they look to be the McIntosh variety, dappled in colors of red and green, crispy-looking and with white flesh.  No doubt some of the apples landed on the ground from the high wind, or the many squirrels as they clamber up and down and around those trees.

But, it wasn’t until I saw my favorite squirrel sitting on the blue Park bench, happily munching on one of those very apples, that it dawned on me that this was why no squirrels were running to greet me as usual on the perimeter path.  It appears they have another source of food, besides me, and the other good-hearted souls who routinely carry around a bag of peanuts in the shell to dole out to the Park’s peanut pals.

To see that squirrel munching and crunching away on that apple tells me it fills his stomach much more than a half-dozen or so peanuts … or, even a small bag of m&m’s.  And, he probably gets a little meat as well, as the close-up photo reveals those apples are wormy.

That’s fine my furry little friend, but come Fall, you’d better come hither to get peanuts to hide for the long and cold Winter ahead when your favorite benefactor does not make her way down to Council Point Park.

So, how about dem apples?