Bloggable Items

The Prairie Princess mentioned that she hadn't seen any of the girl COTU's art work lately. I present -- Jackie Chan, a study in shading. I have tried any number of times in the past to get a good photo of a beech tree, with its silvery grey bark. None of those photos made it to the blog because none of them did the tree justice. I took this one in the beech woods near home -- without the leaves you can see the distinctive trunk a little bit better.

GZMooHoo said recently in his blog that most of the leaves on the trees where he lives have given up, and fallen to the ground. We have lots on the ground, but there are still plenty on the trees, as well. Below is a photo of a maple tree in Tunnel Park, today. Sunny and 60. Halloween is usually cold and blustery here, but not this year. There was more wind than I like, but it was definitely a bikeable day.

Winter hung on so long this spring, that a little extra warmth in October seems justified to me. Tomorrow will be November -- always a cruel month here. As you can see from the Auckland link on the sidebar, tomorrow's theme for the day is books.

No Snow Yet

The roar of leaf blowers was everywhere today. The leaves are falling fast, and there were men working everywhere trying to keep up. I get tired fast riding in temps in the 40's -- and a chilly north wind doesn't help much.

Halloween is only days away. Good job on the pumpkins, SLO's.

Bundle Up

My office smelled like paint thinner this morning, not a pleasant work environment. The conference room table is being refinished, I was told. The heating system must duct straight from the conference room to my office. A dose of fresh air was called for, even in the face of 44 degree temperatures and 20 mph winds from the NNW. I bundled up, and was warm enough for an hour in the elements. The beech woods are pretty even when damp. I got hit by a few solid crystals, but nothing significant. Too cold to ride far, but not too cold to ride. Yet.

Winterizing

The last of the summer guests left this morning, via Amtrak. It pulled out about 45 minutes late, according to their website. There was a lot of slack time in their schedule, with a big layover between trains, so 45 minutes shouldn't be disastrous. I hope they have a safe journey home. They were brave to visit in October. Thanks guys. I took my first bike ride in quite a while later in the morning. A short, quick loop. The roads were damp from the overnight rain, but tomorrow's forecast is for strong winds -- gusts up to 50 mph -- with snow on Monday and Tuesday. Damp didn't sound that bad, considering. I wasn't quite in full winter gear, but it was the first appearance of the balaclava since spring. I rode the Elite, which still knows how to climb a hill. Later we abandoned the beach, with lots of help from OSLO and some from the SLO's. There is still some to do, but mostly it was the fastest closing up in the history of history. Hunker down, winter is knocking on the door.

Woods Walking

Winstrom Park looks pretty small, but there are walkways that wind back through the woods for quite a while. A leisurely, leaf peeping walk can take up to an hour or so.

It was a pretty cold day -- it didn't get out of the forties until late afternoon. One benefit of the recent frosts and freezes is that there were no bugs in the marshy areas to ruin the experience.

Some Sunday Pics

Why is there no one else at the beach in October? See below. Inland and out of the wind, it was much warmer. Some photos from Hemlock Crossing Park along the Pigeon river. It is hard to keep PP out of a tree like this one.

We walked a woodsy loop, then crossed the river and hiked part of the cross country ski trail system.

A little leaf raking before supper turned into some leaf pile jumping and leaf throwing by the young 'uns.

TT has a better sunset photo than I do, but he isn't in it. I like this one, taken a little bit later after some of the brighter oranges had faded.

It was good for everyone to be surrounded by family, again.

It Looks Different in October

October Continues

I have no rides to report -- I have been sidelined with a cold all week, and seem to have only enough energy to do the things that must be done. That, and it is hard to ride with a box of Kleenex. Color changes come more slowly at the beach, for some reason. It was very quiet and peaceful there this afternoon.

The maple tree near the deck has given up early and has dropped most of its leaves. From the look of the back yard it could use a caretaker. However, there are clean sheets on all the beds, and a little food in the refrigerator. So if you don't mind some dust, it could be a good place to spend a few quiet days.

Re-Cycling

It was 59 degrees when OSLO and I rode out this morning, and 70 when we returned. We rode north to Quincy Park, then west through the golf course, cornfields, blueberry fields and woods full of sugar maples. OSLO picked this spot for a photo, with the contrasting colors of the leaves on the trees behind her. We took an afternoon ride over to the fairgrounds with the SLO's later in the day. It was an very non-October like temperature by then -- low 80's. I'm calling it Indian Summer.

Hemlock Crossing

About this time of year I try to get in a ride to Hemlock Crossing and back. Today was the day this year, and it was also my longest ride since I started working in late August. The leaves on the blueberry bushes have turned a bright red. Pretty.

We've had a couple of frosts/light freezes recently, and the colors have just started to pop on the trees along the Pigeon River. The leaves will go fast from here, I expect.

I may not get out that way on my bike again this season, so these may be the best fall photos I get from there. It was nice to ride far enough to be tired when I was done.

White Belts

Three Rides

Not a lot of miles to report over the weekend, but still some good rides. Friday's ride was one of my favorites in a while -- 6.4 miles with the girl COTU (center of the universe) -- some of it along the Grand River, as reported here earlier.

Saturday's ride was sandwiched in while the COTU were at a birthday party. OSLO and I rode through some woods and past a few corn and blueberry fields -- Mother/Daughter rides are right up there with Grandmother/Granddaughter rides. And so I needed a ride with the boy COTU to round things out. All four of us geared up and rode over to the fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon. We took a shortcut through the back gate, down an unpaved trail, much to the delight of Totally Jammin', who liked the fact that he had the best tires on his bike for the terrain of the four of us. The fairgrounds were nearly deserted except for us. The COTU explored the grandstand and requested that this picture be taken. Happy to oblige. Not a ton of miles, but bicycle therapy isn't just about the miles.

She Rides

Her other Grandmother lives 3.2 miles from her home. She expressed an interest in riding her bike there -- no chance that I would ignore that opportunity. And with some busy streets to cross, she does not have enough experience to go alone. I volunteered. (Surprised?) She knew the way well enough to get us there. She returned a book she had borrowed and read -- "In the Belly of the Bloodhound." She and her other grandmother have similar tastes in books.

We stopped on the way back at a gas station for Sweettarts -- and a photo opportunity on the bridge where Pottawatomie Bayou flows into the Grand River. Other than some numbness, she was fine. And she did great. Another biker in the family. Yay.

Topical

At the end of most months I find that I have taken some photos that I like that never made it to the blog for one reason or another. Since today is the first of the month, and the daily photo blogs are doing a theme on 'lines,' I have an excuse to dump some of them here today. Bike racks and shadows make lines across the sand at the state park, today. Breezy and brisk, but some sun. Any day in October that is nice enough to ride is a little gift from Mother Nature.

Self portrait in tiles and shadows, at the office this morning, in the front entryway. More lines.

Fence lines. This is from over a week ago, on a ride out towards Hemlock Crossing. The horses are probably not named Babe and Toots, but that was what went through my mind when I saw them. And if you click on the photo from TT's Minnehaha Falls post, there is an old guy in the background that looks a bit like Dad. Spirits are walking the earth, I tell you. (I have also seen Uncle Charles and Floyd Landis while on a bike ride, though Floyd Landis may still be alive. Anybody know for sure?)

Tunnel Park was a lonely spot one day last month -- and the lines made by the waves and dune grass qualify for today's subject.