This past week marked a new milestone for me, one I wouldn’t have imagined at the beginning of the year. On Wednesday I took advantage of a warm late-fall afternoon to complete an 18-mile bicycle ride on the Gateway Trail on the outskirts of Saint Paul. By completing this ride I have now ridden 1,500 miles this year — an amount that far exceeds anything I’ve ever done. All those miles have been filled with new sights, adventures, and shared conversations. The ones early in the year were done in training for the Bike Across Kansas, and the ones at the end of the summer and into the fall were for the exercise and the enjoyment of riding. I can’t predict how many miles I’ll traverse next year, but I know these 1,500 miles have plenty of enjoyable memories to carry me through the winter and have me looking forward to new bicycling adventures starting next spring.
fall
A late evening’s moment in time
Stop from your hurried day and slow down. Stay in one place, calm your mind. Pay attention to what is around you and in front of you: at the end of this late autumn day the sun is slowing sliding to the horizon, having lost its earlier summer warmth. The slough in front of me is filled with grasses and cattails, and the wind is rushing across them causing them to dance to its rhythm. The sound of the wind is only challenged by the large flock of geese that has taken wing and is rising from the water. The cacophony of their honking is carried across this same wind to my ears. On this evening I am filled with joy, gratitude, and wonder for everything that has come together for this short moment in time.
Unexpected finds
How often is it that one starts to go to point A, makes a wrong turn, finds point B, and discovers something unexpected and remarkable? One late afternoon this past week, I was headed north out of Saint Paul to meet a friend. With an extra 25 to 30 minutes to spare, I got off the interstate to wander to a side highway. Fortunately (?) I missed the turn and continued east, and stumbled into the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area. My GPS showed lakes and sloughs on either side of me. As I wandered down an unpaved road I came to a dike. The sun was low in the sky and bathed the gold and red leaves in a warm evening light, offering up this late fall color, accompanied by the sounds of geese honking overhead. All this beauty of nature was unexpectedly waiting for me on the outskirts of the city, yet it transported me to a wild and natural area far removed from the day’s hustle and bustle.
Autumn carpet
This may have been our last weekend for fall color here in the Twin Cities. As the past week progressed we had cooler temps, rain, and more wind, culminating in yet another early snowfall on Friday. With all these conditions the leaves have been falling much more regularly, carpeting the lawns, sidewalks, and streets. I took a walk along the Mississippi River Road on the Saint Paul side of the River. The temps were mild and there were many people enjoying the sights and smells of autumn. Along the path I saw a small grouping of trees that had lost all their red leaves. At first I was disappointed that I hadn’t seen their vibrant display a few days earlier, and then I realized that the leaves were still just as stunning except that they were carpeting the ground. By lying down on this lush carpet (and confusing many of the passers-by), I was able to focus on the covering of red and gold and remind myself that sometimes the beauty of fall isn’t just at eye level and on the trees, but is often spread out before us at our feet.
Golden autumn colors
By all accounts, it’s been an unusual autumn. We had summer-like weather into late September, then a cold front dipped down from Canada and turned our thermometers past fall and straight to winter and over four inches of snow. After a hard freeze many of us were afraid there would be no autumn color. Although it isn’t as prevalent as usual, there are some brilliant golden colors in the landscape. Yesterday I drove along the St. Croix River, north of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. I was treated to a brilliant display of gold and yellow as the road hugged the side of the river. The sun was setting the leaves aglow — one final hurrah for fall before the white of winter settles in.
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