October 6 and 7 photos from a couple of late afternoon walks. On Friday (Oct 7), we left after 5:30, had dinner at Vi’s for Pies, and walked home in the dark. Along the way, a partial harvest moon! It was much bigger in person. Beautiful, warm, October walks along the turquoise river.
Another early morning walk (before the 32C heat kicks in and the Blue Jays game starts), but not too early (about 7:30 am). Beautiful and a bit smoky from the fire in Jasper. During our 90+ minute walk, the temperature went from 15C to 21C. 10,000+ steps.
It’s September 3rd, but today (Saturday) it’s 36C? Overall it’s been an OK summer. August was hot but now with AC, life is much improved. The heat makes walking difficult though, so Tom and I have walked super early the last few days.
Today I drove over to the Strathcona Farmer’s Market around 8:30 am and was in Mill Creek Ravine by about 9:15 am. It’s been an awfully long time since I’ve been to the market or walked down in Mill Creek, and the last time the south end lower trail was blocked off for repairs. I wanted to see if it’s open and it is but it seems like a recent occurrence. The frost fences and signs were still there, just off to the side.
So happy to be back in ‘my’ ravine, which I know like the back of my hand. Lots of people down there as well taking advantage of the cool September morning before the sun (which is a bit orange from a fire in Jasper) beats the living hell out of everyone and their dog, many of whom were wet from the creek (the dogs that is).
As I expected, autumn is well underway in the ravine. Even though the city is still 95% green, the ravine — cooler and darker — is wearing its fall trousers. There is the tiniest hint of autumnal rot in the air, a welcome scent. There are also lots of leaves on the ground, and the creek, with very little rain in August, is extremely low, but not so low that the dogs can’t splash and play, which is really all that matters. Saw a kid down there with a pail as well.
I didn’t walk the full length of the ravine, just a taste, and was back to my car before the heat had well and truly settled on the city. It was still coolish inside (where all my market treasures, like MacIntosh apples for future pies) because I had parked under one of the enormous trees that canopy the streets in Strathcona/Mill Creek. All in all, a productive and beautiful morning.
Hard to know if this should be under the heading of: a day in the life of Donna or; you can’t write this stuff.
Tom and I were out for an evening walk, and I tripped. Didn’t hurt myself too much, a slightly scraped hand, broken sunglasses, a sore boob. The usual. The funny part was that an hour prior, I had put on some fake tan stuff on my legs. As we were walking, I said to Tom, “this is great because I just put some self tanner on my legs so I need to stay upright.” Actually, more like, …upriiiiiiggghhttahhh. Literally, I tripped as that word came out of my mouth.
I usually trip once a year. I guess considering the number of walks I go on and the amount of territory I cover, it’s not a surprise that I trip every now and then, but I do seem to trip more than others. The other thing is that I always fall forward, other than that spectacular fall backward on black ice in 2020. I think I need to work on my core strength.
Other than that, a really beautiful evening walk. 23C. Doesn’t seem quite as humid.
I was weeding this morning and a juvenile magpie popped over and posed for some photos, mostly from her perch on Earth Pig — prime hunting ground for peanuts (or so I’m told). Very calm. Ludicrously gorgeous. I edited down from about 100 photos.
Gorgeous late afternoon walk with Tom through Whitemud Ravine North from Rainbow Valley Road to the river. We left at 3:30 to beat the heat and for the most part, it was not too bad (in the shade). Not even that hot compared to last year’s sweltering summer.
It’s been awhile since I’ve been in this part of Whitemud. For one thing, I was avoiding the green leafroller caterpillar infestation of June, and also, I have less time for walks like this, at least during the week. It was supposed to be my ‘Donna solo walk day’, but since we were going to Sharon’s, I invited him along and we both had a great time.
Although the creek seemed low in places, the foliage was full on jungle. All the rain we got in May/June helped. We could use some rain again.
24C/3:45-5:30 pm.