I sat on the deck to drink my coffee, and the wind was making that deep, low whining sound all around that it often makes in this valley. Leaves were swirling down from the tall tulip poplar out front, and suddenly a small maple leaf fell into my coffee - a little orange tea-bag that I carefully removed. High clouds were moving briskly west to east, and the treetops were swaying wildly back and forth. The world seemed to be spinning wildly into another season.
What a change from only two days ago! Those maples next to the Presbyterian Church on Fifth Street are now completely stripped of leaves.
I walked up to the top of Sunset Rocks again today, hoping to avoid the snarl of traffic in Town, only to find myself being passed along the road by three or four cars, Lexus and Cadillac SUVs. I stepped reluctantly out of the way, but when I reached the top I excused the traffic; coming down form the rocks I encountered a tiny, tiny little hiker, perhaps only 9 or 10 months old, an elder on each side of him more or less floating him over the rocks, laughing and enjoying perhaps his very first hike. It was a great day to be outdoors, whether walking or driving.
The view from the top was especially beautiful - the turbulent sky off to the west, the side that we properly call "Sunset."
The other side, "Sunrise," is not as well-known and is sometimes overlooked. Horse Cove seemed quiet and peaceful, its green fields far from the bustle of downtown Highlands - two sides of a coin.
And so we transition from October to November, and I dig on the laundry-room shelf for my gloves and warmer shirt in preparation for tomorrow's run when the temperatures is predicted to drop from the unseasonably 70s and even 80s of this week to a sharp 34 degrees. I am ready for it.
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