Yet another lovely walk in the river valley. Not only was it hot (27C), it was also very noisy wading through the leaves. Astonishing really, considering fall just started last week. A few frosty mornings, some wind and voilà! Seems there is no autumn in Edmonton without the wind. In the short term, awesome piles of leaves on the ground. In the long term, and I mean in a week, bare trees. I love the naked part of fall too, but the scenery right now is just breathtaking.

Last year, it was so warm in September, the first frost was delayed until October, and by that time, the green leaves

just threw themselves to the ground out of sheer frustration that they never got a final change of clothes. Maybe this explains why autumn this year seems so yellow, and so beautiful.

A routine, 90 minute walk through Rossdale, the Muttart, and Mill Creek Ravine. In spite of the heat, the air was anything but oppressive. The sun is was at a lower angle, not beating on my head as in midsummer, and the shady areas were considerably cooler. Also, I’ve lost every bit of tan that I possessed, so I’m much more reflective. And I don’t mean thoughtful.

It’s supposed to be very windy tomorrow, so the raining of leaves will continue. Peak fall at its peak.

6:05 PM/27C

Immortal Autumn

I speak this poem now with grave and level voice

In praise of autumn, of the far-horn-winding fall.

I praise the flower-barren fields, the clouds, the tall

Unanswering branches where the wind makes sullen noise.

Now

No more the foreign sun does meddle at our earth,

Enforce the green and bring the fallow land to birth,

Nor winter yet weigh all with silence the pine bough,

But now in autumn with the black and outcast crows

Share we the spacious world: the whispering year is gone:

There is more room to live now: the once secret dawn

Comes late by daylight and the dark unguarded goes.

Between the mutinous brave burning the leaves

And winter’s covering of our hearts with his deep snow

We are alone: there are no evening birds: we know

The naked moon: the tame stars circle at our eaves.

It is the human season. On this sterile air

Do words outcarry breath: the sounds goes on and on.

I hear a dead man’s cry from autumn long since gone.

I cry to you beyond upon this bitter air.

Archibald MacLeish

Why a poem? Because I’ve run out of ways to say beautiful.

3:35 PM/16C

A spectacular and warm autumn day. Leaves falling on my head, crunching underfoot. Cameras and dog leashes swinging from hands. Old men, young boys. Mothers and joggers. Friendly little girls, and even friendlier sheepdogs. Chickadees, squirrels, and flies. Every living creature, two, three and four-legged, out enjoying this beautiful day.

Two hour walk from one end of Mill Creek to the other, and every inch was drop dead gorgeous.

3:46 PM/27C

Hard to know which photo to choose, or even which beautiful autumn scene to photograph. It’s gorgeous everywhere. Not quite peak fall, there’s still a lot of green, but close. It happens very fast here in the north. We’re one wind storm away from defoliated trees and leaf-strewn trails. There is really nothing about fall that isn’t a thrill for the senses.

Wore my tank top for the first time in more than a week. The sun stayed behind the clouds for most of the walk, but it was warm enough to think it might still be summer, if it wasn’t for the panorama of yellow. Two seasons in one day. I’ll take it.

5:54 PM/18C

The sky was such a deep blue this afternoon it seemed a deliberate act of one-upmanship against the previous two weeks of gloom. Talk about shooting fish in a barrel. An easy goal, beautifully fufilled.

The first day of Autumn…OK, not until 9:09 this evening, was spectacular. Still cool, but warming up over the next few days. The air is even starting to smell like rotting leaves and apples, which is incredibly evocative, of the rotting leaves and apples of my youth. When my sister lived in Virginia for a year, she said the east coast foliage was incredible, but she missed the smell of a northwest autumn. Must be the dead and dying poplar leaves. We’re a very smelly province.

It feels like it’s been weeks since I’ve walked through the river valley on my way home from work. As I mentioned in a previous post, it’s been a very busy and stressful month, and the weather hasn’t been particularly inviting. Now that things are quieting down at work, the weather has suddenly turned gorgeous. Perfect timing, although I think a few, long week-day walks, in spite of the rain and cold, would have knocked the frown off my face. Maybe.

Saw the Kingfisher again, in the same general area of Mill Creek. The Kingfisher is a migratory bird, so I suspect this might be the last time I see this stout little blue bird. Also noticed the seagulls are back on the island, suggesting that the Bald Eagle, sporting a brand new gull gut, might have moved elsewhere. Things are definitely on the move in the river valley.

6:00 PM/13C

Sunrise: 7:19   Sunset: 7:34

Happy Autumnal Equinox!

It’s grab a sweater and make a casserole day. Finally. I’m so sick of summer.

In honour of the first day of Fall, please enjoy this review of South by Patrick McDonnell. It’s a post from my other blog, 32Pages. Yes, this is cross-pollination of a sort, but the book is wonderful. It’s about autumn, migration, and unusual cat behaviour.

Have a leafy day!

Equinox 9:09 PM