October Creepers

Days are sunny and very cool here, nights around the freezing mark, occasionally well below. Most mornings there is frost on the grass when we go out. On our walks, Beau wears his blue tartan jacket with its fleecy liner, and he is happy to be doing it.

I put on my old green jacket with a cotton turtle neck sweater and cardigan underneath. Lacking much of a lining, the garment does not convey warmth, but its deep hood and waxed surface shut out the north wind and keep me dry in sudden icy showers. The garment has several deep pockets for items like glasses, keys, facial tissues, cell phone and poo bags, so taking something along to carry such things is not necessary. Of course, a woolly hat, scarf and warm gloves are also needed these days.

Wonder of wonders, here it is at last, the splendid performance put on every year by a cluster of Virginia creepers a few blocks from home. Most of the creepers in the area turn red and burgundy in October, but this specimen always dazzles in bright orange and vivid teal, and we wait hopefully for it to turn.

Nudged into action by sunny days and cold nights, village trees have gotten the word and thrown themselves joyously into what we (Beau and I) like to call hallelujah mode. Local maples cavort in flaming scarlet, birches and poplars wear buttery gold, and the beech sisters in the park delight our eyes in shimmering copper and bronze, all together a splendid seasonal coinage. On walks, Beau and I stop to look at the riches all around us, and it is a wonder we ever make it home again.