For the last day of October, it was beautiful and sunny. No goblins, as far as I could see, but a few flies, and some geese. Several days of long walks, and I’m starting to feel better. Short sprints and gloomy skies helped to tank my mood over this last week, but this weather rally has rejuvenated my serotonin supplies.

The geese were lovely. I heard them first, as often happens in fall, and when I looked up, one flock was flying in V-formation, but there was another group just behind them, without any formation at all. The two groups moved effortlessly into a long line, and then as if pullled on a string, the line broke into a V. See ya next March, geese. Or April, if you’re smart.

Last week in Louise McKinney Park there was a huge drilling machine, smack in the middle of the rose garden. I can’t say for sure, but I’m assuming this is part of the LRT expansion process. At one of the meetings I attended, there was mention of these drills, which would be used to check the stability of the ground prior to the actual excavation. I hope they found a route-killing geological malformation, or better yet, some sort of artifact laden burial ground, which for different reasons, would also be a route killer (but more interesting.) Preferably something that unleashes a curse on the South-east LRT expansion project. Bubonic plague would be nice, but nothing lethal, of course. Just miserable enough to make the planners reconsider jamming their trains through this part of the river valley.

Saw a lot of disturbed earth over by Connor’s Hill, which was probably the same thing. I think I’ve gone backwards in the Kubler-Ross Five Stages of Grief. I’ve abandoned Anger, and returned to Denial. It’s just so much more pleasant.

Sadly, like the geese, Godzilla has also made his way back to warmer climes. He was gone last week, chopped out of the ice, I think. The snow that fell is now completely gone, but there’s still thick frost in the mornings. I’m sad to see him go, but I understand.

3:05PM/13C

Yup. More of the same. Late day at work, short, bitterly cold walk home. Tomorrow. Seriously.

5:40PM/-2C

The snow.

That’s what happened.

And no, it wasn’t as bad as depicted in this photograph. Just forgot my camera today, so I had to dig into the archives. There is a smattering of snow about, pools of wet, and bone-chilling cold. Although it’s not that cold…a mere zero degrees. If this were January, there’d be guys in shorts strolling proudly through the streets. Today, everyone was wrapped in thick, black woolen things. The wind and the gloom makes it seem colder. I don’t know…I guess I just want the first snow to be those big fat flakes falling gently and whimsically from the sky, not the painful mini-slaps to the face which greeted me at the door this morning.

A bit of overtime at work, so shortish walk. Aiming to walk for at least 90 minutes tomorrow. Been lazy lately, and I’m feeling it in my brain. Apparently.

6:05 PM/0C

Sunrise: 8:19 AM  Sunset: 6:17 PM

There is good gloom, and there is bad gloom. Today was gloomy in a bad way. It was dark, cold, and with just enough wind to feel assaulted, rather than, say…caressed. Several late nights at work and an election this week have prevented longer walks, but I think the real reason is a lack of motivation. Crazy, because the days of walking home via the river valley are coming to a close. I’ll still walk, but it will be on well-lit streets, partly in the river valley, but not on the trails unless it’s the weekend. Until mid-January, when the light starts to return. Must be ‘walking fatigue’. Happens every now and then. I blame work.

5:31PM/10C

Sunrise: 8:10AM/Sunset 6:28PM

Yes. It was. It is. But, kinda nice in a quiet, October way. Wishing to cast my vote before the ‘rush’, heh, I took the path near the Queen Elizabeth Pool, which is more of a dump than a pool these days. Haven’t been on the path for a long time, and for good reason. It’s very short, and it ends in a lung-busting set of stairs. Actually, they’re not that bad. The heaving ended well before I reached the school (four blocks away.)

Having fufilled my civic duties, I had the option of carrying on with my walk, or heading home. I went home. Something about voting makes me hungry.

5:14PM/12C

My first walk since the early spring where it’s been below zero. It’s deceiving. The temperature said -3C, so I geared up with gloves and an extra layer. Five minutes in the bright sun, and the gloves came off, but unfortunately I was stuck with my layers. Longish walk, ending at work. The first part was great, in spite of a few lost moments in Kinsmen, but the second part? A necessary evil.

Turns out, there’s a mini-putt behind the Kinsmen, and in spite of my best efforts, up and down hill, I could not find a through path. So, down again. Eventually, I found my way, but it added on about 10 minutes to my walk. Not that I was particularly anxious to get to work.

I think I’ll start walking earlier on the weekends. The midday sun is washing out the view, and even though the trees are bare, there is still a lot of beautiful, subtle colour in the post-leaf autumn landscape.

12:35PM/-3C (it’s now 11C)