Time for a family visit

There's a reason for Thanksgiving beyond the reason defined by the pilgrims - it's a good time for a family get-together, and for funny pictures...

My somewhat crazy brother demonstrating a good off-label use of a rubber glove

Suze & Mom in a crazy dance moment

Dad, in one of his crazy but temporary get-ups. I think he said these turquoise polyester pants are at least 30 years old!

The disappearing sun

I find that I'm still amazed at how early the sun disappears on these fall days. And we still have another full month before the winter solstice, another month of ever shorter days. It was still daylight when I headed out on a long walk this afternoon, but by the time I returned home the moon was sneaking out from behind it's cloud cover.

Ah... the moon has shed most of its clouds!

Winter? It can't be!

It is mid-November, but it still seems pretty early for our Friday into Saturday snowfall, and I'm really not (mentally) ready for this. I may be boring everyone to tears with my thoughts on the subject, but each year it becomes harder to face the New England winter. I'd really like to be in a place where I have access to snow but where the ground around me stays free of the white stuff. Temperature? I'd prefer no lower than 50's, but I think 40's would probably work too.

The bad thing is that I didn't want to brave the 34 degree temperature on my bike today. The good thing - I did get a good walk in, and I pretty much guessed the right clothing layers. I could have used a warmer pair of gloves at the start of my walk, but the light ones I chose were perfect at the end. And since it didn't feel like a hat day to me, I headed out wearing my earbags, which look like an earmuff without the connecting band. The bags snap over your ears - very comfortable, and just the right amount of warmth for the day. Hmmm... my earbags are a very conservative black. I think I'll order a second pair in purple!

It's possible that this tree is as surprised as I am by the early season snowfall - after all it is still holding onto some green leaves!

I have a feeling that this seat might be a bit cold.

Just as I was trying to capture this bird sitting high in a tree, it decided to take off. Amazing!

Bruises?

What bruises? Seriously, although my face still has a few bruises left from my crash, they are definitely getting smaller. It's hard for me to notice the changes, but looking at a series of photos together made me realize that my healing is definitely progressing.

June 4th, just over two weeks after my flip over the handlebars. It's funny, but that bruised and swollen area over my right eye is still a little swollen on November 9th, but it's only visible to me!

July 3rd, after my first post-crash bike ride. Isn't it nice of my helmet and sunglasses to (somewhat) hide the red spots?

September 19th, still fading...

October 26th, in Hawaii. Yup, they're still there, but I honestly believe they are getting smaller.

A beautiful morning skyscape

I woke up at 5 o'clock this morning, and for some reason I went straight to the window. What a beautiful sight - against a black morning sky, there was a sliver of the moon with two planets (Jupiter and Venus) clustered beneath it.

What an amazing sight as a start to the day...

A taste of sunshine and blue sky...

...and wind, but a beautiful late fall day. Tomorrow is supposed to be much cooler - or perhaps I should say cold! When I left for Hawaii, the trees still had their leaves, and when I came back I was surprised to see that although the colors had dimmed many of the trees were still wearing their leaves. We had a couple of very windy days, and most of the trees are now bare. There are still some areas where green and yellow leaves are still showing. They are very isolated, but they exist. I wonder how long these colored pockets will remain.

It's been hard adjusting back to the northeast after a week in Hawaii, no surprises there. I'm really not ready for the cold weather, but it's on the way whether I'm ready or not.

It seems that as each winter approaches I think more seriously about moving. The funny thing is, one of the areas I keep thinking about is Colorado east of the Rockies, and they certainly do have winter out there too. The thing that interests me is that the serious winter weather is in the mountains, and while the cities I'm thinking about do get snow, it seems that the snow arrives and then melts quickly. Oregon and Washington both interest me too. Hawaii you ask? Well, if an opportunity arose to live there I don't know how I could turn it down. Do you see the theme here? West...

Some yellow leaves still remaining

And some red-orange beauties too...

And the shoe of the day is...

...the Merrell Jungle Slide / Moc! I was sitting in a meeting with three of my co-workers this afternoon when Michael auddenly glanced at our feet - and we were all wearing Merrell shoes. Black Jungle Mocs for the guys, and the counterpart slides for me. And it turns out that we've all been wearing these shoes for years!

My feet demand comfortable shoes, and they've said they are very happy with my choice of funky, clunky, and comfortable.

Dreaming of Hawaii?

I've uploaded my Hawaii photos - or maybe I should say a selection of my Hawaii photos! If you want to join me in dreaming of another trip to one of my favorite places, you can browse through my Hawaii 2004 - an adventure on two feet photo gallery.

Here's a sample photo to tempt you. This is Pololu Beach.

Hey - why is there a gap in your blog postings?

I'm heading to Hawaii for a long-awaited vacation, and rather than embed my adventures into my day-to-day ramblings blog, I set up a separate place for my trip. If you're interested in following along, please visit my Hawaii 2004 blog.

My next entry in this blog will probably be early in the week of November 1st.

Fading colors, cool days, sandals!

It's really amazing how fast the colors seem to fade. It's still clearly autumn here, with a very cool and rainy day yesterday. This morning I noticed the change in the colors as I drove down route 125 on my way to work. The road is heavily wooded with a mixture of broad-leaf and evergreen trees. Two days ago there were more popping yellow, orange, and red leaves. This morning I noticed more browns. There are still trees that are wearing bright colors, and there are still trees that are wearing green - but it's clear that autumn is moving forward and creeping past the season of leaves.

And I'm still not ready for the change in seasons, which is probably evident by the fact that I'm still happily wearing my Chaco sandals during the day. I suppose when I come home from my "back to summer" vacation that I'll need to switch to closed toe shoes.

Wrap-around skirts and windy days...

Today was a day when my attire definitely didn't match the weather. I wore a long wrap skirt, which is very comfortable and long enough to provide some warmth to my still bare legs. I headed out for a walk after lunch and very quickly discovered that I had to hold on to the edge of my skirt. The wind was so strong that it probably would have flown up around my waist if I hadn't been holding it! Windy days and wrap skirts are really not a good combination for those of us who don't want to flash the world. Of course I could have just turned around and headed back in to the building, but that's not my style. I wanted a walk, and I took that walk...

Chilly, but a good biking day

The temperature hovered in the low 50s today, so I'd have to say it was a transitional clothing day for cycling. I headed out wearing my normal cycling shorts with the addition of knee warmers, a long-sleeved jersey (!) and a wind vest. It was pretty chilly starting out, but I was warm by the time I returned home. I'll be off my bike for the next couple of weeks since I leave Friday for my first trip to Hawaii in years where I'm not going to be traveling around by bicycle. I have a feeling that when I return home and return to my bike that I'll need to be wearing even more layers.

Another thing that will likely change when I return home is my daily footwear. It's mid-October, and I'm having a hard time believing that I've continued to live in my Chaco sandals. I switched to running shoes for my early morning and early evening walks, but I've continued to wear sandals during the day. I think it's turned into a game to see if I can not switch to day-time shoes until I get back from Hawaii!

Funny, as I rode today I noticed a change in squirrel behavior. Squirrels usually run out in front of me - or between the wheels of my bike - but today they seemed to adopt chipmunk behavior. They'd sit on the side of the road, look at me, then go bounding off into the woods or over the grass. I was happy that they weren't playing suicide games.

A cool day, good for walking

I meant to ride my bike today, really I did! But somehow I knew that it wasn't a high energy day, and I headed out on foot to soak in an absolutely beautiful fall day. A 90 minute walk to and through the old town center of North Andover presented trees of all colors, some still very green, some totally converted to fall colors, some mixed, some with no leaves. It was cool and windy, with sun and clouds sharing the sky. A good walk...

A solo red leaf on the ground...

A bit of contrast, a swatch of yellow & orange, but the tree still has some green to share

And there are still flowers visible - both people-planted like this one and wildflowers too

An early evening magic sky

Wandering with a digital camera in my hand is a lot of fun. I've gotten into the habit of taking a camera with me as I head out for walks or bike rides - maybe as practice for my upcoming Hawaii trip, and maybe just as a way to absorb all of the beautiful things around me. I have to say that I'm really glad I made the switch to digital photography before my cross-country bike trip just a little over two years ago. It's definitely satisfying to take the pictures and be able to view them full size almost immediately. I wonder if I'll ever switch back to a film camera...

A little shade of pink hiding behind the clouds

And a backlit wisp...