October 16, 2006

• I just returned from a long sort of walk. There is a break in swimming classes this week, so I put the stroller in the car this morning before I drove Bug to school. I parked near the school and then Bean and I took off. It got seriously gray and I had heard there was a front moving in. Yesterday, all of last week as a matter of fact, it was warm. Temps in the mid to high 80's and it just felt balmy. Not crisp air but warm from the sun. The sun felt gentle and the air felt slightly moist and warm, kind of like spring in an eastern state like Virginia.

  October is probably my favorite month, and part of what I love about it is the crisp air, the breezes, the high pressure systems that come in bringing sun, yet chill. And the leaves changing colors, of course. Usually October is almost a rebirth, similar to what I have felt in spring before. This feeling of excitement and promise. Odd to say, but the warmer weather in fall can kind of bring me down. I was fine with it in southern California because it seemed in keeping with how it was there, plus we got cooler weather in the evenings. But I never had that same feeling of exhilaration that I get when it is sunny, breezy and crisp.

  So today I walked around my favorite neighborhoods, and we saw lots of Halloween decorations. And leaves in different stages of coloring, some still green, some turning yellow, some bright red or orange, some brown and dead looking, and some trees completely bare of leaves. At one point I was walking on a carpet of leaves in a quaint old neighborhood with gorgeous little houses and trees that loomed over my head. I love that particular part of the street. I tried to get some photos of it, but they never capture what I want. We stopped in at a local coffee place where I had a coffee in a ceramic cup and Bean enjoyed some chocolate milk. We split a bagel. I took one photo of her just sitting there, but as soon as she saw the camera she started to pose, so it was a candid shot of her coming into awareness of me with the camera. Not exactly what I wanted, but good enough. I drained the camera battery taking so many photos.

  So for now, I'm out of my autumn funk. I realized as I was driving Bug to school today that probably over half the trees have turned. There were some trees that were more sensitive to whatever weather conditions we had this year, and they didn't color as brightly and dropped their leaves too soon. But then other trees that normally haven't impressed me in past years are making up for the poor performance of their aborial friends. One of the trees that looks good this year is one my friend told me is good for xeriscaping and often used in low water landscapes. So even though we had some pounding rainstorms a week or so ago, I think in general we are drier this year. The ponds and some of the little creeks that I pass on my walks are almost completely evaporated.

  We were gone for 2 hours, but I doubt I walked even 3 miles with how slow I was going at times, and the stop for coffee. I tried to retrace it in my car to get the mileage, but I had walked the wrong way down some one way roads. When I lived in Virginia, I used to drive out towards the Shenandoah area to see the color. I loved driving down highways and country roads, seeing signs for apple cider or apples. It reminded me of when I was a kid and my parents owned some property at a place called Apple Mountain. We always stopped at a little country store, the only thing out there at the time, and got country ham sandwiches with mustard. The only time I ever enjoyed that salty kind of ham, actually. After college when I returned home, I would get in my car and drive out towards the hillier parts of northern Virginia, often ending up on Skyline Drive and parking so I could take some nature walks. I had enjoyed the same sort of thing when I lived in Charlottesville, but in the NoVa area I had to drive a little farther to find it, usually. I had all these romantic notions during those drives, and I would think about moving out that way, but I knew the reality wouldn't live up to the little fantasies I was conjuring in my mind.

  I actually really love where I live now, and in some ways I'm getting part of what I used to dream about. I love walking around the older neighborhoods and stopping in the locally owned businesses and checking out what is going on in my neighborhood. I actually joined the church to which I belong because I wanted this sense of community, being able to go to some of these seasonal events, potlucks and picnics and having people that at least recognized me if they didn't know me that well. I can go for a week or two with a very small area of navigation, with most of the places I need to go within a 3 mile radius of my house. I get a very homey feeling from this, even if I don't want to be in my house...like today...because it is so messy and I know I should clean it. I do start to feel stifled after awhile, and then I take a trip. Part of the reason why I went to Virginia in August. But this is a great time of month, with harvest festivals and holiday events to look forward to, so I'm going to try and enjoy it.

  • 4:44 pm
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