Autumn . . .

We are at the end of the dog days of summer, and here in Chicagoland, fall is definitely in the air.  

Here's me toward the end of last week - it was 41 degrees when I left the house.  I needed a hat, a wicking shirt, long pants, and a sweatshirt to get a good walk in.  And of course, my mask.

I saw my primary doc last week, and he confirmed that yes, I should be wearing a mask whenever I leave the house.  And in the exam room, there was a sign that read: "You must wear a mask at all times in this room, even if you are in here alone."  That tells me that the science is evolving.  Initially we thought the virus was transmitted only by droplets, but more and more I'm reading that the virus is likely also aerosolized, meaning it stays in the air longer than one might think.  This fricking virus.  Will it never end?!  Not without everyone's attention.  So, for reference, here they are again:  The 3 W's

• Wear a Mask
• Wash Your Hands
• Watch Your Distance

Early last week the smoke from the horrific wildfires on the West Coast reached the Chicagoland area.

This was on my walk last Tuesday morning.  I was checking air quality and it was fine, but this is quite a reminder . . . To all on the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest, I'm so sorry you've had to deal with massive fires.  When I lived in SoCal, we used to joke that the seasons were Brown, and On Fire.  It was true - but I suppose now in this time of climate change it's even more true.  Unfortunately.  

But here is a more typical Midwestern September sky.  This was just a couple of days ago on my walk.  It was really beautiful.

To my absolute joy, my cormorant (yup, he's "my" cormorant now  ;-) ) was back at the retention and side ponds multiple days last week!!  I know this is sort of far away, but it was as close as I could get - by the time I came around to the other side of the pond (on the path you can see in the photo) he was still on the pole but no longer drying his wings.  Anyway, here he is drying his wings on the pole that's in the pond (I have no clue why there's a pole in the pond).  Cormorants are not as oily as ducks and geese and they can become water-logged and must dry their wings so they don't sink.  This is a common posture for them, but I've never seen it before, so - once again - huge thrill for me  :-)  

It only takes a few cool nights here - here's a maple that's already half 'n half!

And here on my corner, the maple that puts on a show every fall. The overture is just starting! 

Today I'm waiting for the driveway guy to arrive to seal-coat my driveway.  I thought he'd be here by now, but I guess he'll arrive this afternoon.  You can't drive on it for a minimum of 12 hours, so he probably times it to be drying overnight.  Still, he asked me to be ready by 7 a.m. . . . My car is in the driveway of the empty house two doors down.  I figured they wouldn't mind.  Old Mr. C died quite a few years ago and no one has lived there since.

I'm trying to get my knitting mojo back.  I haven't picked up my needles for months.  

The only thing I've really done for the past three weeks is to watch the Tour de France.  I really enjoyed it this year.  I started watching it about 10 years ago when I first participated in what spinners call "tour de fleece," where you spin fiber during the Tour.  I had never watched the Tour before and I was instantly captivated by it!  I nearly missed it this year because I knew it had been postponed, but didn't realized that it started at the very end of August.  I was able to catch up on the first two stages of the race and then watched every day.  Now that I'm not working, I don't have to fast forward so much  :-D   I used to DVR it in the morning and then when I came home from work, I would watch the beginning and then fast-forward through until the final hour, when they stopped the commercials and you could just watch the race in peace.  This year I got to watch more of it than just the beginning and the end.  

 

This tune is one that's not often heard, and I don't feel like autumn is an empty season, but it's such a beautiful tune . . .  I know it from a cabaret show I sang a million years ago; it's from a musical review from the late 1970s, called Starting Here Starting Now.