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

A shorty today…just 40 minutes. The dog put a stop to further exploration of a new monkey trail we discovered. It’s weird to be walking on a path and not know where it’s going to end, with the real possibility of getting lost. The best trails are always those that start that way, but it’s been a while since I was on a truly unfamiliar path. Literally and metaphorically. I would have kept going, but Maggie stopped dead on the leaf-strewn trail and threw me a ‘please, no more’ look. So, we turned around. She’s too big to carry, and I’m a sucker for those eyes.

As I said in another blog post, September, like May, displays the most dramatic change from beginning to end. It was green and now it’s yellow, and we still have a week to go. It will be peak Autumn by Friday. Unbelievable. Also unbelievable? The weather. It’s going to be 30 today.

12:00PM/26C

It’s the second day of Autumn, and it’s supposed to reach 29C. It’s already warm. And dry. Good for the farmers. Great for the wasps. 30C tomorrow. Very strange.

Maggie and I had a lovely romp in the woods among the golden poplars and assorted colourful things, including a Pileated Woodpecker, who failed to pose for a picture. At one point I was stalked by some chattering magpies, who looked absolutely stunning against the yellow, but they too buggered off the second my camera came into focus. We took the loop that ends up in the Westbrook neighbourhood. Very nice houses, I must say, but I prefer trees. It’s a good 90-minute loop, with a particularly nice trail through some dark spruce. Passed by a lady with a dog carrier full of stuffed chimps. She had her child in tow, and a large camera. “It’s for a children’s book.” Oh. How ironic. I’m guessing it won’t show up in my other blog anytime soon. I just did a monkeys.

1:20PM/19C (so far…)