WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

… especially if there is a garden hose nearby.

I set out on a walk this morning, glum over the gloomy-looking sky and the fact that it was late when it was finally light enough to head outside. After a few days of lackluster weather … first feeling as if I was bounced around like a tumbleweed, then Sunday’s rainfall and an errand-filled Monday morning, I was glad to finally get a decent walk in again.

While traversing the neighborhood, I saw more and more harvest and Halloween décor assuring me that people have decided to just go ahead and embrace the Fall as the Summer has left for good.

While walking down Emmons Boulevard, in the distance, I saw a cluster of small birds gathered in the middle of a cross-street. Of course, my first thought was “don’t they know that is a dumb thing to do – people can’t see you?” As I got closer, after squinting to see what the attraction was, I noticed the morning congregation seemed to revolve around a colorful bag of some sort. Suddenly a squirrel, seizing the opportunity to be “large and in charge”, raced into the flock of sparrows and rushed over to examine the pickings and make them his own.

As I got right up close to the scene, I had to laugh because there was a foil bag emblazoned with the words “Fritos Flamin’ Hot corn chips” and our furry friend was pawing through the chips and shoveling them into his mouth just as quickly as he could. He reminded me of a squirrel I saw once at Council Point Park who had discovered a Cheetos bag and pretty much inhaled the remnants of it. How did I know? Well, his mouth and paws were smeared with orange cheese dust.

“Sure, go ahead and make a pig of yourself” I called out to him as I passed by, though he was enjoying this unexpected treat so much, he was oblivious to me. Then I added “just be sure you look for a garden hose to guzzle some water to cool off your scorched gullet from your gluttony!” He never budged and paid me no never mind so I just kept walking past this furry Frito Bandito.

And you thought gluttony only happened at the Thanksgiving Day table?

After enjoying exceptional weather for most of the month of September, I’ve not been impressed too much with October thus far. Today it was dark and gloomy and the wind was gusting over 20 mph when I left for my walk. It was a “hold onto your hat” kind of day and will continue like that through the weekend.

Since it took forever to lighten up outside and I had a busy work schedule today, I just took a short walk, bypassing all my favorite haunts. Speaking of haunts, this wicked wind has torn down some of the Halloween decorations and I saw a plastic ghost rolling down the middle of the street on its own volition. It sure was not the ghastliest apparition, especially on the return trip when I noticed that a car had done it in, and one crushed Casper was squashed flat at the curb.

During my three-mile trek, I saw many parents and kids leaving the house for school. They were all doing the mad dash from the front door to the car … you know those moves you make once that first cold and unwelcome breath of Fall greets you in the early morning.

As I walked along, I scuffed through the leaves on the sidewalk, and watched as the wind whipped them from the trees, across driveways and along the street to join their counterparts. It was kind of sad actually – all those beautiful trees, so recently gussied up in their gold, rust or red “accessories”, and now they are probably shivering after this hasty departure of all their leaves in one fell swoop. I sure can’t blame them; this raw-feeling morning left me somewhat shivery myself.

Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the Fall. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

East side, west side, all around the town …whether I’ve been pounding the pavement in the neighborhood, or pacing the perimeter path at Council Point Park, as of today I’ve racked up 500 walking miles in 2015. I’m ecstatic since that is my annual goal to be completed by December 31^st, so I am three months ahead of schedule. Good thing too, because the days are rapidly getting shorter. On gloomy days, when the sun stays neatly tucked behind the clouds, I’m all dressed, ready to go and tapping my foot because it’s still dark out.

There were times I thought I wouldn’t make it to 500 by year’s end. For days it seemed that rain wreaked havoc with my walking regimen early in the Spring, but it finally abated and I resumed walking once again.

The month of September has been beautiful and I am sorry to see it leave. After a fortnight of perfect days, yesterday I was two miles out on my journey and it began raining, so I scurried home, but I was determined to make up for lost miles today. While yesterday was muggy and warm, today it really felt like Fall with a definite brrr in the air. After all, Fall officially arrived one week ago today.

So, now begins the daily math lesson as I get dressed to go for a walk – adding or subtracting layers after listening to the morning weather report. All too soon, the weatherman will be adding those nasty words like blustery, wind chill and the most-dreaded word: snow.

Not only has your roving scribe racked up 500 miles, but this is the 134th blog post issued this year. The poor car lags far behind as to driving miles … just 238 miles driven so far in 2015. I’ll keep up with my walking, and who knows – perhaps I’ll reach 600 miles by year’s end … anything above and beyond my original goal is just gravy now.

Now that the papal visit to the U.S. is drawing to a close, the nation can now turn its attention to tonight’s colossal moon and the lunar eclipse. This is big stuff, since you don’t need a fancy-schmancy high-power telescope to check out this lovely Luna … you only need your naked eye. And what a moon it was last night … my friend Marge e-mailed me around 10:00 p.m. with the comment: “Look at the moon. Wow!” I raised the blind and took a look for myself … it seemed you could actually touch it!

Tonight, after I wash an apple, I’ll grab a sharp knife, reach out the window and lop off a large wedge of that cheddar cheese, that it is masking as a moon, to have for my snack. Do you remember when you were a kid and thought the moon was made of cheese?

Speaking of celestial bodies, the sun was up and shining brightly when I left for my walk today. Finally the fog that’s been present every morning this week was gone, and, in its wake, was a clear and beautiful day. I went to Council Point Park and got two perimeter loops walked before heading for home. That was five more miles added to my total; another ten and I’ll have reached 500 miles, some three months in advance of my target date of December 31^st. Reaching this goal so early reminds me of the inspirational words of Norman Vincent Peale, ever the optimist, who suggested that one should

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

On Saturday morning that sun refused to rise and shine for the longest time. But … I had no room to talk, because neither did I.

The alarm rang and I must’ve been dreaming as I couldn’t find the clock on the night stand right away, and its constant squealing annoyed me. Finally, I found the clock, silenced it and reached for my headphones to listen to the news to gently ease into my day. “Ease” was the operative word, because I was still curled up and comfortable in my bed. Foggy and murky was the description for the weather, so I languished a little longer and enjoyed a few more ZZZZs, before I finally propelled myself out of the bed to begin my day.

I flicked on the light, and poof – it went dark. Well, its partner bit the dust a couple of days ago, so on my mental “to-do” list was replacing both long-lasting (supposedly) CFL lights in my bedroom . Those bulbs had a supposed life span of nine years – too bad they only lasted about nine months. “Well, just great” I muttered.

A few minutes later, I decided that if I don’t know where everything is by now, as to myself and my wardrobe, that’s pretty bad, so I’d manage without the light on in the room.

I ate breakfast leisurely for a change, knowing I had plenty of time to set out for my walk. Finally a timid sun peeked through the shades, so I was ready to go. We’re back to short sleeves again with Summer-like temps sticking around for a few more days and I reached into the dresser drawer and grabbed the first tee-shirt I laid my hands on, finished getting dressed, laced up my shoes and was gone in a flash.

I headed to Council Point Park, eager to get started onto my first of two laps. Weather permitting and fingers crossed, I’m hoping to reach 500 miles by month end.

I swiveled my head left and right, looking for photo ops, but there were none. I took a gander at a few flocks of geese flying overhead, and their incessant honking was worse than the shoppers behavior in Best Buy’s parking lot on Black Friday morning.

Suddenly, I was startled when a booming voice nearby cried out “so, what crisis did you avoid?” I turned around and saw a young man who pointed at my back with one hand and guided a water bottle up to his lips with the other hand. While awaiting my answer, he had time to guzzle, swallow and have another swig, and all the time I was looking at him somewhat dumbfounded.

Finally he enlightened me by saying “your shirt – it says ‘I survived ‘95’.” “Ahhh”, I said. I know I sounded a little clueless and he probably wished he had never opened up this can of worms. I told him “I’m sorry – I didn’t realize what my shirt said. I got dressed in the dark this morning” to which he responded “oh … well have a nice day.”

TMI on my part maybe?

I’m sure he thought I was some kind of dumb bunny.

I must back up a minute. In my bedroom, one of my deep dresser drawers is filled with tee-shirts that are relegated for kickin’ around in. I’ve collected tees from various unions with whom my boss has negotiated CBAs, but the majority of my freebie shirts come from the law firm Robb and I left when we started our own firm. Wise & Marsac had multiple outings each year. There were get-togethers like the golf outing, splat ball or the water park where families gathered for a day of fun and to break bread with one another at the Firm picnic. There were a few March of Dimes Walkathons, attended by the hardiest of our personnel. The branded colors of our law firm were burgundy and gold, thus, every Firm outing had its own burgundy tee-shirt, emblazoned in gold letters signifying that particularly event.

I never went to these outings, but one of my bosses thought I should have a tee-shirt anyway, so he made a point of looking for leftover tee-shirts from the no-shows at the conclusion of each event. They weren’t always my size, but he was just being nice, so on the Monday morning when I arrived to find a X small or 3X tee-shirt folded neatly on my chair, I graciously thanked him for thinking of me.

Long after the encounter with the stranger at the Park, I racked my brain trying to remember what “I survived ‘95” signified. What was the big crisis twenty years ago?

I concluded it must not have been too important if I couldn’t remember it today, so I decided not to waste any more time worrying about it. When I came home from my excursion, I took this photo of the tee-shirt and now vow to only wear it in the house going forward!

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow – Swedish Proverb

Mother Nature kicked that humidity up a notch or two today because the fog took its good ol’ time getting out of town. It lingered over the spacious fields at Council Point Park long after I arrived. In fact, when the low clouds finally parted, and that tardy sun dared to peek out, it was just a pale imitation of itself. I guess Mr. Sun is well aware that it is playing second fiddle to that Super Moon this weekend, so it stepped back out of the spotlight it’s been in all this week.

Once the sun arrived, however, that wishy-washy orb cast its glow on some of Mother Nature’s finest artwork, for example, a gorgeous garnet-colored leaf that had fluttered from a tree and now lay face-down on the sidewalk. It was a perfect specimen, its beauty as yet unmarred by feet … human or otherwise.

A group of Queen Anne’s Lace looked pretty enough to gather and tie with a ribbon for a bouquet, even though it is a common weed.

And, even before I set out on my walk, I discovered an intricate spider web in my front garden, its delicate beauty enhanced by tiny dewdrops. The web was as big as a dinner plate, woven with silk and it almost looked like a dainty doily that stretched from the Japanese Maple to the living room window ledge. You really had to wonder how that lacy-looking web did not collapse under the weight of all those pendulous droplets clinging to each silky thread.

Though I loathe those eight-legged critters, their elaborate webs are worth taking a second look, if just to admire them for their durability and beauty. While I certainly don’t enjoy accidently walking into a web that has been spun overnight, today at the Park I found myself face to face with a big spider, seemingly suspended in mid-air, but actually just hanging out in his own domain, a large web which stretched between two tall bushes near the baseball field.   In the background, geese were resting after grazing before taking flight once again. I inched closer to the web and examined it, getting up close and personal with this large garden spider. It was an unusual move for me, who generally will avoid spiders, and my action reminded me of a trip to the Smithsonian years ago. One of the museums in the massive complex featured a tarantula in a glassed-in case. Given my fear of spiders, even back in ‘77, I felt brave because I could tap on the glass all I wanted, knowing it couldn’t “get me”. All that hairy-looking arachnid did was stalk angrily around its living quarters with each rap of my knuckles on the glass wall. Brave girl indeed!

On today’s early news, squeezed in between the preview of the Pope’s busy agenda in New York City and John Boehner’s sudden resignation, I heard about the Delta flight from Baltimore to Atlanta where a tarantula was loose in the plane’s cargo area. Thank goodness another plane was handy to whisk the passengers away from this unwelcome critter. It’s not like you could run out the door of an airplane flying 45,000 feet up in the air. Gulp.

Mother Nature sure outdoes herself sometimes … right down to the super-sized moon and lunar eclipse this Sunday night. That’s a winning “twofer” right in your own backyard, just look to the Heavens.

Today we welcomed Autumn.

But, instead of our grumpy declaration that “parting is such sweet sorrow” which is usually muttered as we watch Summer slowly slip away, it sure is easy to embrace the new season given our simply spectacular weather. It sure doesn’t feel like Fall, but, of course for the longest time it didn’t feel much like Spring or Summer either when those seasons arrived.

This morning, I took along a cardigan and begrudgingly I think I soon shall be giving up wearing the capris since my calves were chilly.

This crisp weather gives me extra pep and I decided to pick up my pace a tad in keeping with that goal to get a five-mile walk done in under an hour by next Labor Day. Of course, it takes awhile to get acclimated in the Spring to be walking that many miles at one time, but I hope to get ‘er done, so stay tuned.

Even the squirrels seemed to have heaps of energy and the now-plentiful brown acorns are strewn everywhere. Those squirrels make me smile when they take daring passes to dart across your path as you near a pile of “their” acorns on the sidewalk. I always want to tell them that peanuts, especially peanut butter, are more my favorite food, rather than acorns, but those words will fall on deaf ears. Even the Google Doodle today was about these whimsical furry creatures.

Soon the grade school children will be bringing home their Fall artwork, those crayoned drawings or construction paper cutouts of leaves, pumpkins and turkeys, then asking for them to be posted in the living room window, or, at the very least, on the fridge door. Some parents will wish this handiwork would have stayed in the classroom instead.

I was thinking of my early school days as I walked along on this first day of Fall. As a young child, I remember being taught those valuable lessons, like reciting the ABCs, or counting aloud one to ten, as well as learning how to print or write in cursive between the lines. My mom and I practiced those lessons long before kindergarten, including singing that little ditty about the amount of days in each of the calendar months. How many of you, if asked how many days are in August, have to think about it? Perhaps you must dissect that childhood rhyme “thirty days hath September …”, and, in that vein, I thought the change of seasons always happened on the 21^st, i.e. the 21^st of March, June, September and December, representing Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter respectively. The 2015 autumnal equinox falls on the 23^rd of September. Maybe too many years have passed since I learned that concept, … or maybe it’s just me.

I was conflicted about what nice quote to use to commemorate this brand-new season … perhaps some warm and fuzzy thought to welcome Autumn? Or, with the arrival of Pope Francis, how about an insightful quote from the Pontiff? But, then there was the sad news of Yogi Berra’s passing. All those years when I circulated a daily thought for the day, I often used his most-memorable and colorful, malaprop-riddled quotes.

Alas, how about if we herald this chilly season’s arrival with these wise words:

A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just. ~ Pope Francis

I noticed that over the weekend many homeowners in the ‘hood hauled out their harvest and Halloween décor to give a touch of Fall flair to their front yards, even though the official event is still two days away. Scarecrows stand at attention looking over the remains of Mr. Bones, mock gravestones, mischievous monsters and ghoulish ghosts and goblins. Mums are popping up all over in gardens or have replaced the bedraggled-looking petunias in porch pots, which were on their last leg from that recent heat spell.

The nippy temps were evident when I set out this morning, but the pale sun warmed me up slowly as I walked down to, and then around Council Point Park. All the weather forecasters are promising a week of gorgeous weather and I am hopeful to reach my goal of 500 miles walked before month end … I have my fingers crossed to do this anyway.

Saturday was a lost cause for walking in the morning due to the rain, so I tried to recoup lost steps yesterday and today.

Sunday I went grocery shopping, so I racked up nearly five miles by walking laps around the perimeter of the store, plus gathering groceries and then schlepping them into the house.

Meijer was in full-blown Autumn mode.

As I travelled past the Yankee candles I inhaled deeply to immerse myself in the intoxicating scents. Besides the usual fragrances, two new scented candles from their Fall 2015 collection not only smelled heavenly, but were right up my alley. The first was “Autumn in the Park” which touts the scent of freshly peeled apple, lemon zest, a hint of pumpkin spice and fallen leaves; then there was “Crisp Morning Air” which is a blend of eucalyptus, mint, pear and sage. I hated to leave that corner of the store and in the brief time I spent there, the potpourri of smells clung to my clothing.

Competing with the intense scent of the candles, was the wonderful smell of chocolate that wafted from bags and bags of Halloween goodies, freshly unboxed from cartons and stocked on those store shelves, just waiting for you to happen by.

In garden supplies there was the strong smell of grass fertilizer which permeated the area, although the pungent smell of mums and their musty-smelling loam invaded my nostrils as well.

I’ve always been partial to those old scarecrows, whether they are used to keep your corn ears intact by keeping the crows at bay, or merely just for holiday décor, so I bought one yesterday. She’s a tall girl, cute as a button, with a checked blouse and denim pinafore and she sports pigtails which are actually straw-colored raffia. She looked cheerful and colorful – the perfect ambassador to stand by the door and say “Welcome all and Happy Fall!”

Sunup arrived.

Soon thereafter, the first rays of the day began peeking through the blinds, beckoning me to come out and play, er … walk. I grabbed my gear and rolled out the door just as soon as I could.

In the wee hours of the morn some fog had rolled in, so when I passed Ford Park I couldn’t help but notice the mystical-looking haze hovering above the baseball field. The saplings even looked a little eerie … dark forms in the grassy expanse. Occasionally, a very brilliant drop of sun pierced the fog, scattering some of those sunbeams, including bouncing them off my glasses.

Wow!

I slipped my hand into the camera pouch thinking what a wonderful photo I’d get to accompany today’s blog post, but through the lens, that sun made the scene blurry and undistinguishable.

Sadly that mist opportunity became a missed opportunity.

I put the camera away and just kept walking, but my head kept swiveling over to the field of fog.

I began thinking about the song “Morning has Broken” as I walked along. Back in the day I loved Cat Stevens’ music and must’ve memorized the whole album “Teaser and the Firecat” because I played it incessantly. Suddenly I pictured that high school girl sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor, almost in a trance while listening to Cat Stevens’ soothing and smooth voice, perhaps even mouthing the words to those moving lyrics. Yes, I was that girl.

I bypassed Council Point Park due to the fog and decided to make the Rivers Edge Marina my destination instead. As I walked down Emmons Boulevard toward the Detroit River, I noticed the boats were barely discernible as they glided along the water on this misty morn. At the marina, however, there was some activity as people readied their pleasure boats to slip out of the slip for an early a.m. escape … a breather from the drudgeries of their day.

I stood on the footbridge and took it all in, then decided to hightail it back before the 8:20-ish train rolled through. Whenever I dare to cross the tracks and head toward the River on a work day, I always get waylaid by a train that seems to be at least a mile long … that’s Murphy’s Law I guess.

Once back home, a second cup of coffee downed, cleaned up and sitting at my computer, I hopped onto YouTube for my own Throwback Thursday. I typed in “Morning has Broken” … after enduring a commercial, those sweet strains took me back some forty plus years. I remembered all the words and sang them out, while my canary Buddy whistled and chirped as he struggled to keep up with me.

So, why don’t you take a trip back yourself and spend three minutes, give or take a few seconds, to put yourself in a peaceful place too? But, if you’re too young to remember the song, make sure to give it a listen anyway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0TInLOJuUM

Each day provides its own gifts ~ Marcus Aurelius

Slowly the temps are creeping back up again and this morning was not so chilly as in recent days. I got in a five-mile walk. I was enjoying myself so much that I was tempted to saunter past the driveway and stay outside a little longer, but then I find myself scrambling all day to catch up at work. As it turned out, we were not so busy and I could have enjoyed a longer trek.

It had been more than a few days since I’d walked the perimeter path at Council Point Park, so that was my destination today. The foliage on some of the trees is already starting to turn, and, though it is subtle, the leaves are already brushed with tinges of burnished gold, orange or red.

Since Labor Day, many of the regular walkers are now MIA. Some, I know, have jobs in the school system, so once the new school year begins, they walk in the Park either at night, or strictly on the weekends.

First, the serenity of my morning Park promenade was interrupted by the clanging of the railroad crossing gates, followed quickly by a long train rumbling along on the nearby Emmons Boulevard tracks.

After the train departed, I quickly returned to my woolgathering while I walked along, but soon that aura of tranquility was interrupted by a flock of geese, who must’ve just lifted off from grazing in the nearby baseball field. There was a baker’s dozen in all and they were honking their heads off. Luckily their flyover was not near me, so I didn’t need to duck. Up, up and away they went, albeit rather haphazardly and out of sync, as they attempted to follow their leader. Well, I guess the migrating season is still young so there’s plenty of time to perfect the “V”. Obviously, they must not have gotten the memo that warmer temperatures will be here by week’s end, but, I suspect they, like me, saw some of those huge inflatable Halloween creatures now adorning some homeowners’ lawns and figured it was time to vamoose to a warmer clime.

A gaggle of geese can make you giggle sometimes –alot of noise and energy from very large and beautiful birds gracing the great sky above.