Just one more shot. So indicative of Autumn…

Words fail this time of year. May and October. There is insufficient vocabulary. Walked through Blackmud Creek on a cool afternoon yesterday, taking in all the colour and scents.

Too cool for shorts, but I wore them anyway. Wish I could show my exuberance like Maggie, nosing her way through the rotting leaves, hopping over tree roots and dipping her paws in pools of aptly named black mud. Then again, maybe not…

The network of trails off 23rd Ave are heavily root-bound and undulating, and to remain upright, it’s imperative that one be vigilant while traversing this incredibly beautiful area of the ravine. Not an easy thing to do when the view is so spectacular, and the ground underfoot so perilous. I did not embarrass myself, and even managed a little skip here and there over the roots. None of the trails in the northern section of Blackmud Creek are groomed. It’s all monkey trail, but well-trodden monkey trail. Many fellow walkers out with their dogs and cameras, enjoying a lovely autumn day.

Blackmud ravine is the only place I know of in the city that has an Oxbow. When rivers or creeks meander and are cut off from their course, an oxbow, or u-shaped protrusion is formed. Along Blackmud Creek at the bottom of a small but steep hill, a mini-lake suddenly comes into view, parallel to the trail, very black, and very still. Just another one of those inexplicably beautiful and surprising things that exist in the trails and ravines of Edmonton.

Around 12C

Walked by the river along the Fort Edmonton trail this afternoon. Perfect weather. Perfect views. Lots of yellow in the canopy, lots of crunch underfoot. Autumn.

4:30PM/16C

Maggie decided that she did indeed wish to go down the hill and into Whitemud Ravine, after a week or two of full-on resistance. This is good news for everyone, especially me. It’s boring to walk around the power line, and the ravine is particularly nice right now. That dog is immovable

when she doesn’t want to go somewhere, and by somewhere I mean down a hill. It’s difficult to distinguish between belligerence, laziness, and actual age-related discomfort. Once she’s on the trails, she has the energy and enthusiasm of a puppy. Getting there…can be frustrating for all of us. A 10 minute walk to the powerline takes much longer, once you factor in the grass and rabbit-shit eating, pooping two or three times, peeing ten or fifteen, and comprehensive smelling of things. Fun for the walked, I suppose, not so much fun for the walker. And then to be denied the pay-off, the ravine, is just annoying. I don’t want to hurt Maggie, but I’d like to know what her dealio is with the hills. Or that hill, in particular.

At the bridge, a guy came around the corner with four dogs. The lady in front of me had two. And then Maggie. It was a flock of dogs, all happy to see and sniff one another. The trail just beyond the bridge was, as I had hoped, awash with wet leaves. It’s cool and mostly overcast today, so the entire effect was one of autumnal beauty at its peak. Thanks Maggie. I needed that.

2:30PM/6C

Most excellent walk through a beautiful, autumnal Mill Creek. As always, the season seems a week or two advanced in these low-lying parts. The leaves are already crumbling on the trails. Some of the trees are bare, and the creek is just a leaf-strewn trickle in the rocks. So very lovely.

Walked from my hairstylist just off 99th, to downtown via the ravine. Started with a jacket, ended with it wrapped around my waist. Cloverdale Pedestrian Bridge was just packed with river valley enjoyists. Walkers, runners, the ubiquitous and incredibly goofy segway perchers, folks smiling into cameras, or just hanging over the rails, taking in the scenery. Lots of gulls, lots of sunshine. Lots of everything. Wish one of the mayoral candidates had been out on the bridge today to see this people and nature-filled slice of Edmonton. It can’t be replicated.

4:30PM/16C

Didn’t feel like the first day of fall under the hot sun. Looked like it though. Walked through Terwilligar offleash on Thursday, and Whitemud Creek today. In between, nothing, because of my class. Maggie came on Thursday, but settled for a quickie this morning. My afternoon walk would have been too long for her. Maybe. Sometimes she’s got it, sometimes not. The glucosamine seems to be helping her.

Terwilligar was very beautiful. Usually we just walk the periphery, but this time decided to take some of the monkey trails which were MUCH nicer.

Today, an hour’s worth of blustery winds, rotting leaves, and a big, blue sky.

18C/3:00PM