I can’t even grasp how many leaves are on the ground now.

It’s September 25th.

Yikes.

September 25th is my best friend’s birthday, so I’m going to write a note to myself to call her.

I have a lot of dialect prep work to do today. I lost a day yesterday because I was going on less than 4 hours of sleep and I knew any attempts at research would be useless. So, today is about making up for yesterday because my coaching session is tomorrow.

I’m just about to finish another Gregg Hurwitz book in the Orphan X series. This one is Into the Fire. I have a couple more books from the library on hand, but I’m hoping the latest Richard Powers novel, Playground, arrives at my library today. It was just published yesterday and the hold list says “In transit.” He is one of my favorite writers and the pre-publishing reviews have been splendid.

I’m starting to like Don’s haircut. Now that the shock has worn off, it’s kind of cute. Boyish. If you’re a longtime reader of this blog, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I’m a bit obsessed with Don’s hair. He has a great head of hair, naturally wavy. Frankly, I’m jealous if it as my hair is straight and baby fine. His hair is thick and gorgeous. (He does have a tiny bald spot now, but it isn’t real obvious.) Anyway, I was expecting one look, and when he came home from the salon, he had another. I took a moment yesterday to whisper in his ear that I liked his hair cut. He was pleased.

Laural, my best friend, turns 73 today. She’s Don’s age. I’m a year younger. How did we get to be in our seventies? I’ve known Laural since I was 12 years old. 60 years. Sixty! How is that possible? Yesterday, Don was talking on the phone to a woman who wants him to sing at a memorial service for her husband, who died in January. She said they were married for over 50 years and Don (like me, when I heard that) thought she must be elderly. You know how you sometimes think that you’re younger than people of a certain age? Don quickly realized that she is probably a contemporary of his. If his first marriage had worked out, he would be celebrating 51 years. Laural has been married over 50 years. But Don, like me, tends to see himself as younger than he is. Maybe that’s because we don’t have children and grandchildren. All I know is that quite often we have to be jolted back to reality as to our actual age.

Okay. I have to get going. But more coffee first.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Sunday was lovely. We took an impromptu drive, heading west over the Shawangunk Ridge. The ‘Gunks’ as the locals say.  They are a continuation of the Appalachian Mountains and we are blessed with a view of them from our property.

We stopped at a viewing point and took this photo. The mountains you can see in the distance are the Catskills. We drove through some lovely little towns, as we observed the leaves changing color in the autumn light. It was nice to take a drive together for no other reason than to have a little adventure. We miss our road trips. One of the things I love the most is a road adventure with my husband, like the time we drove back home from California. We’re due for another big adventure but that will have to wait until we can afford it. In the meantime, these little mini adventures help put everything in perspective and we return home happy and relaxed.

The last couple of autumns have seemed to start earlier than in the past. We’re not even done with September and there are a lot of leaves on the ground! It’s amazing how quickly the seasonal change has taken place. Climate change? I have no idea, but I do know this transformation used to start toward the very end of September. We’ve been in it for a couple of weeks now as we were last year at this time.

Our Great blue heron friend is in the river every day, in just about the same place. Endlessly patient, waiting for the right moment to find a fish. The other day he was in the midst of lots of Canada geese doing the same thing.

We had a beautiful sunrise this morning with the sky an intense blue with pink streaks. Just glorious.

Yesterday, we took the day off from walking but we’ll be back at it today. But not until I make our second cup of coffee.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

I took this so you could see the Virginia creeper turning a vivid red. I can see it off in the woods, as well.

In writing about all the birds we’ve seen, I forgot to mention the great blue heron that we’ve seen twice this week. He’s been standing in the river, patiently waiting for a fish. We saw him on Monday and on Wednesday. My goodness, he’s gorgeous.

Yesterday was a day where I was on a tear, doing all sorts of chores that I’d put off, both inside and outside. I go from being a slug to a dynamo and there seems to be no in between. And I still have a lot more to do. We took a day off from walking, but we’re back at it later this morning. I’ll also return the latest Kate Atkinson to the library. If you’re a Jackson Brodie fan, this one is excellent. Perfect plotting, lots of twists, lots of references to classic mysteries, and lots of word play. I loved it. Atkinson is one of my favorite writers.

Don was supposed to get a trim yesterday and he came back with far more than a trim. I was shocked. He had asked me if I wanted to go along with him but I was in the middle of all sorts of chores, so I said no.

Sigh. I should gone along with him.

There are so many leaves on the ground already. I think I said this last year as well, but they seem to be falling earlier than usual, especially from the maples. We mowed the front yard the other day and by the next day, portions of it were covered with leaves. No, no! Let us enjoy fall a bit longer, please!

The temperatures are still fairly warm but by next Monday, they will drop into the sixties. Don and I are counting the days until we can wear the cotton thermal shirts which are our winter wardrobe staple. This started when Don was on tour for Margaritaville and discovered them at an Old Navy in Chicago. When I visited him, he talked me into buying some.  The only choice we have to make is what color to wear. Easy!

Now, I’m worrying about my favorite gray thermals which are showing signs of wear.

These, of course, are quality problems.

I forgot to mention that our friend Margaret, who is married to Adrian – he had a heart transplant last year – is undergoing open heart surgery today in California. Please keep her in your prayers. They have been through so much.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.