Took the opportunity yesterday to walk for a few hours in the river valley in and around Mill Creek. Like my walk this morning in Whitemud Ravine, the leaves are gone from the trees. Mostly. It’s extraordinary to watch the landscape explode into colour, but there is something so beautifully quiet and contemplative about the woods when the trees are bare, before the snow has fallen. At 5:30 in the afternoon in Mill Creek, the sky was metal grey and the branches disappeared into the clouds as if there was some sort of high mist. The paths have opened up after a summer’s worth of leafy congestion. No people, no dogs. I was completely alone. I saw a robin sitting in a tree, which is a little late in the year for those fairweather birds, and all around were the ubiquitous magpies and a blue jay, badgering me, I think, for taking my peanuts and moving to another part of town. Other than the birds, a solitary walk in the soft colours of mid-autumn. I understand why Andrew Wyeth was so compelled to paint this sort of landscape. Why I’m so compelled to take bad pictures of it, none of them even coming close to capturing the moodiness.

The morning walk in Whitemud was brighter and more lively. Only about an hour. Must have rained a bit last night; the ground was wet and smelled great…like, oh I don’t know, wet autumn leaves after a night of rain. In spite of the chill, Maggie still wanted to jump in the creek. I wouldn’t mind but the water is so still this time of year, I’m sure it’s full of beaver-born wee beasties. And beavers. Around the curve of the path where Maggie likes to make her move into the creek, I put her on the chain. She seemed a little hurt. Later, she got back at me by crunching down on a bone she picked up in the grass. I had to shove my hand in her mouth up to my elbow to remove it. I couldn’t bring myself to look hard at the thing…a quick glance registered some sort of skull shape, like a bird, or a tiny sasquatch. After the skullectomy, I didn’t know what to do with my hand…covered in gob and bird bones, so I just let it hang by side, dripping, until I got home. Gross. It’s always an adventure walking with a dog.

10:30AM/6C

A very sparkly walk in the -2C temperature. The grass was stiff underfoot in the shady areas, diamond-tipped and dripping in places where bright beams of sunshine had melted the frost. A gleaming Autumn morning, in other words. One of the many nice things about walking with a dog is that every so often they stop to read their peemail, or write their own. On this crisp morning, these stoppages allowed me to hear the leaves falling, like fat raindrops hitting paper lanterns. The speed of their descent has ramped up with the colder temperatures, and it’s almost as if the leaves are hurling themselves to the ground. In spite of the suicidal overtones, the sound is lovely. On one of the trails in Whitemud Creek, I just stood there listening, long after Maggie’s mission has been completed, and she stood there with me quietly sniffing the air. We indulge each other’s ‘moments.’

Walked up to the little pond. The surface scum has receded, leaving very clear, glassy water. No ducks or other birds this morning. No muskrats, although Maggie and I did see one last week on the creek. Her attempts to catch it resulted in a wet dog and rather spectacular barfing episode along the bank. Not me, the dog. She jumps in with her mouth open, and almost always chokes a bit, or throws up. Today, no such episodes. Lots of running through the frosted, tall grasses along the trails. Not me, the dog. Passed a group of people walking their various pups, one of which was a tiny, samoyed-type dog. Very pretty. Very tethered to the owner, who kept saying, ‘Easy Leonard.’ Apparently Leonard doesn’t play well with others. Maggie just ignored him, but still…awesome name for a dog.

10:00AM/-2C

Especially nice walk this morning. My intention was to go for a half hour walk around the power line, really more for Maggie’s sake than mine, but it was so beautiful outside, we just kept walking. Veered off the little footbridge onto the path that runs along Whitemud Creek. It’s a dead end, or at least I consider it a dead end as I don’t like walking straight up the side of the ravine on a questionable path which leads to another, paved path at the top. I’ve walked up there before and it’s very sketch. Anyway, this little trail is fairly short, but lovely. Almost too overgrown in the summer, but perfect now that many of the bushes and trees have defoliated themselves, which is very kind of them. Maggie was absolutely in heaven running through the tall grass. No other dogs or people so she had the path entirely to herself, other than her companion of course. In this part of Whitemud, it’s like being in a canyon. The hill on the east side looks sheered off, eroded, and exposed earth has been bleached dune-white by the sun. Almost expect to see a cactus growing out of the side of it.

Yesterday, like the day before, I walked along my old trails, through Rossdale and Louise McKinney Park. The trees are just a few days past peak autumn, but still ludicrously yellow, a phrase Nigella Lawson applies to squash, but one I think suits the poplar leaves in Edmonton this time of year. I’m all about hyperbole, especially in autumn.

10:45AM/8C

Over to my old neck o’ the woods today. Started at the top of 98th avenue, or the trail adjacent to the avenue,and then down toward the river. Cold, rainy and windy, but so beautiful. I love autumn, especially in the river valley, and in the babbling waters and windy paths of Mill Creek.

5:58PM/8C

Cool and wet morning walk in Whitemud Creek with the dog. We backtracked through the swankified Blue Quill neighbourhood instead of taking the powerline route. Took about twenty minutes to get to the ravine, and with my back to the bright sun, it was a pleasant start to my walk. As for the emerald green, highly manicured lawns we passed along the way…sorry…Maggie drinks alot of water.

Fairly uneventful in ravine itself. Very yellow, not a lot of company. Too early, I suppose. Still having trouble getting enough walks during the week. I think I’ll dedicate one day a week to walk my old routes, at least until we lose the light in a month. I’ll be home late, but at at least I’ll be assured of three or four good walks a week.

Funny thing I noticed about this area of town. We’ve had a very sunny September, and it just seems wherever I walk, the sun is beating down on my head. I now realize that while this is a well-tree’d neighbourhood, the streets are very broad, so the trees never meet at the top or spill over onto the sidewalks and boulevards, not that there are many (if any) boulevards.The trees are tucked into the yards. No canopies. Strathcona/Mill Creek is a tightly packed, heavily foliated neighbourhood, with boulevards. There is definitely more shade in south-central Edmonton. On the other hand, with respect to the ravines, the trees in Whitemud are taller, and of a different variety, than those in Mill Creek. Not sure why this should be, other than I suspect Whitemud is a deeper ravine and the conditions are more favourable for birches. And powerlines.

12:00PM/11C